Concurrent evaluation of microscopic observation of drug susceptibility assay for pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Methods for detection and drug susceptibility of tuberculosis (TB) with solid media are inexpensive but slow and laborious. Rapid methods to diagnose TB and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) are a global priority for TB control.

Objectives: A study was performed to compare the sensitivity of detection of mycobacterial growth and time of culture positivity by microscopic observation of drug susceptibility (MODS) assay with that of Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture in pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB and to evaluate the concordance of the susceptibilities to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) by MODS and proportion method on LJ.