Assessment of the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube for the bacteriological diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Fast, accurate diagnosis is necessary for rapid treatment of patients and to prevent the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. The rate of recovery, mean time to detection and contamination rates of the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) were compared with Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium for mycobacterial cultures performed on 405 clinical specimens decontaminated by the trisodium phosphate method without benzalkonium chloride. The recovery rate of M.