[Validation of the PCR-based universal heteroduplex generator assay for identification of rifampicin-resistant and multiresistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Lima, Peru].

Objective: To validate the polymerase chain reaction-based universal heteroduplex generator (PCR UHG-Rif) assay for identifying rifampin-resistant and multidrug-resistant (MDR, resistant to isoniazid and rifampin) Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis from communities in Lima (Peru) with a high incidence of resistant tuberculosis.

Design: To compare the results of antituberculosis drug susceptibility testing in clinical samples performed by the proportion method with those obtained by the PCR UHG-Rif assay, with the aim of analyzing the diagnostic capability of PCR UHG-Rif.

Results: Concordance for the identification of antituberculosis drug susceptibility was 0.

Drug resistance trends among previously treated tuberculosis patients in a national registry in Peru, 1994-2001.

Setting: National mycobacteriology reference laboratory in Peru conducting routine testing of susceptibility to isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, and streptomycin, in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from previously treated patients.

Objective: To determine the percentage of isolates resistant to each of five anti-tuberculosis agents and to ascertain in these data the presence of trends of clinical relevance.

Design: Retrospective study of a national registry of M.