A study of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in risk groups in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Brazil.

Monitoring the extent of and trends in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a priority of the Brazilian National Tuberculosis Control Programme. The current study aimed to estimate the incidence of MDR-TB, describe the profile of TB drug resistance in risk groups and examine whether screening for MDR-TB adhered to the recommended guidelines. A descriptive study that examined diagnosed cases of pulmonary TB was conducted in the city of Santos, Brazil, between 2000-2004.

Characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis in a hyperendemic area: the city of Santos, Brasil.

Objective: To characterize the profile of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in the city of Santos, Brazil, according to biological, environmental and institutional factors.

Methods: Descriptive study, using the TB surveillance database, including patients with PTB, aged 15 years or older, residing in the city of Santos and whose treatment was initiated between 2000 and 2004.

Results: We identified 2,176 cases, of which 481 presented a history of TB.

[Laboratory identification of mycobacteria in respiratory samples from HIV-positive patients suspected of tuberculosis].

The records (2000 to 2004) of the Microbiology Laboratory of the Adolfo Lutz Institute in Santos, Brazil, were retrospectively analyzed regarding patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and suspected of pulmonary tuberculosis. 1,321 samples for diagnosis purposes were selected, corresponding to 880 suspected tuberculosis cases in 693 patients. There were 134 smear-positive samples and mycobacteria growth occurred in 188 cultures, corresponding to 161 confirmed cases.

Gene probes versus classical methods in the identification of mycobacteria.

Objective: The emergence of tuberculosis/HIV co-infection and the increase in the number of cases of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) require rapid laboratory test results in the isolation and identification of mycobacteria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the identification of mycobacteria by means of gene probes in comparison with that obtained using classical biochemical methods.

Methods: Between 2002 and 2004, 178 mycobacterial cultures, all testing positive for acid-fast bacilli, were analyzed.

Descriptive study of the frequency of nontuberculous mycobacteria in the Baixada Santista region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Objective: The present study aims at describing the frequency of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species identified through laboratory testing of samples collected from non-sterile sites (sputum), as well as its frequency in HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected individuals in the Baixada Santista region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in the period from 2000 to 2005.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of sputum smear microscopy results and culture was conducted based on the records on file at the Instituto Adolfo Lutz-Santos, the regional tuberculosis laboratory.

Results: We analyzed 194 NTM strains isolated from 125 individuals, of whom 73 (58.

[Detection of cord factor for the presumptive identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex].

Objective: Virulent strains of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, under certain appropriate conditions, grow as characteristic ropes, bundles or serpentine cords known as cord factor or growth in cords. The objective of the present study was to evaluate cord factor detection as a method of achieving presumptive identification of the M. tuberculosis complex, comparing it to conventional typing tests.