Nucleic acid amplification test and bronchoscopy improve the diagnostic accuracy of smear-negative tuberculosis.

Objective: To determine whether the nucleic acid amplification (NAA) test on specimens collected by bronchoscopy improves the diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in sputum-negative patients.

Design: Bronchoscopy was performed among smear-negative PTB suspects to collect respiratory specimens to assess the efficacy and accuracy of the Amplified Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Direct (AMTD) test in the diagnosis of PTB.

Results: In 105 PTB suspects, 80 were finally excluded, of whom two were false-AMTD-positive. PTB (n = 25) was diagnosed in 10 patients culture-positive for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (7/105 bronchial wash/bronchoalveolar lavage [BW/BAL] specimens, 6/315 expectorated sputum specimens [2 positive in 2 patients; 1 positive in 2 patients], and one with both), and in 15 patients with improvement after anti-tuberculosis treatment. Among the 25 PTB patients, 20 were AMTD-positive, of whom four were culture-positive. Three AMTD-negative patients were culture-positive. The sensitivity and specificity of AMTD were respectively 80.0% and 97.5%. The diagnostic yield was higher in respiratory specimens obtained at bronchoscopy and measured by AMTD than in conventional sputum or BW/BAL culture.

Conclusion: NAA testing on specimens collected using bronchoscopy provides a highly efficient and reliable approach in the diagnosis of PTB in smear-negative PTB suspects.