Publications by authors named "D A Christopher"
Background: There is limited evidence on point-of-care ultrasound for tuberculosis (TB), but studies suggest high sensitivity, especially for lung ultrasound (LUS). However, insufficient data are available on specificity of the examination and its generalizability to a broader patient population.
Aims: Our study aimed to establish accuracy for lung, chest, and abdominal ultrasound, individually and in combination, for TB diagnosis.
: C-reactive protein (CRP)-based tuberculosis (TB) screening is recommended for people with HIV (PWH). However, its performance among people without HIV and in diverse settings is unknown. : In a multi-country study, we aimed to determine whether CRP meets the minimum accuracy targets (sensitivity ≥90%, specificity ≥70%) for an effective TB screening test.
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- Effective diagnostic tests are crucial for detecting tuberculosis (TB) early in countries heavily affected by the disease, which led to a study screening adults with a cough in five countries.* -
- The study involved several tests, including chest X-rays and multiple screening algorithms, assessing their accuracy against microbiological standards, revealing that CAD4TB was the most reliable test.* -
- Combining different screening tests improved diagnostic accuracy, suggesting a sequential approach could better meet WHO standards for TB detection.*
Article Synopsis
- Tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) is a common form of tuberculosis outside the lungs, but current diagnostic methods like Xpert Ultra are not very effective, with a sensitivity of around 30%.
- A study in South Africa and India tested a new quick diagnostic method called IRISA-TB, comparing it against other assays and examining biopsy samples for TB confirmation.
- Results showed IRISA-TB had significantly better sensitivity (81.8%) and negative predictive value than Xpert Ultra and also outperformed other methods, indicating it could be a more reliable diagnostic tool for TPE.
Cough is a common and commonly ignored symptom of lung disease. Cough is often perceived as difficult to quantify, frequently self-limiting, and non-specific. However, cough has a central role in the clinical detection of many lung diseases including tuberculosis (TB), which remains the leading infectious disease killer worldwide.
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