ArticleThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene2011
Combining PCR with microscopy to reduce costs of laboratory diagnosis of Buruli ulcer.
Article in The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biological, Environmental, and Social Determinants of Buruli Ulcer in Africa: Their Interplay Across Disease Severity and Patient Outcome.Public health challenges · 2026Review
- Evaluation of the fluorescent-thin layer chromatography (f-TLC) for the diagnosis of Buruli ulcer disease in Ghana.PloS one · 2022Article
- Diagnostic Accuracy of Clinical and Microbiological Signs in Patients With Skin Lesions Resembling Buruli Ulcer in an Endemic Region.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2018Article
- Improving clinical and epidemiological predictors of Buruli ulcer.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Perianal ulcerative skin tuberculosis: A case report.Medicine · 2018Article
- Spatial Distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Buruli Ulcer Lesions: Implications for Laboratory Diagnosis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2016Article
- The "Buruli Score": Development of a Multivariable Prediction Model for Diagnosis of Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection in Individuals with Ulcerative Skin Lesions, Akonolinga, Cameroon.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2016Article
- Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans by real-time PCR with improved primers.Tropical medicine and health · 2016Article
- Challenges Associated with Management of Buruli Ulcer/Human Immunodeficiency Virus Coinfection in a Treatment Center in Ghana: A Case Series Study.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2015Article
- Identification of the Mycobacterium ulcerans protein MUL_3720 as a promising target for the development of a diagnostic test for Buruli ulcer.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2015Article
- Genotyping Tools forMycobacterial diseases : tuberculosis & leprosy · 2014Article
- Multicenter external quality assessment program for PCR detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in clinical and environmental specimens.PloS one · 2014Article
- Article
- Secondary bacterial infections of buruli ulcer lesions before and after chemotherapy with streptomycin and rifampicin.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2013Article
- Geographic distribution, age pattern and sites of lesions in a cohort of Buruli ulcer patients from the Mapé Basin of Cameroon.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2013Article
- Implementation of a national reference laboratory for Buruli ulcer disease in Togo.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2013Article
- Effects of decontamination, DNA extraction, and amplification procedures on the molecular diagnosis of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease (Buruli ulcer).Journal of clinical microbiology · 2012Article
- A case of cutaneous tuberculosis in a Buruli ulcer-endemic area.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The introduction of antibiotic therapy as first-line treatment of Buruli ulcer underlines the importance of laboratory confirmation of clinical diagnosis. Because smear microscopy has very limited sensitivity, the technically demanding and more expensive IS2404 diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become the main method for confirmation. By optimization of the release of mycobacteria from swab specimen and concentration of bacterial suspensions before smearing, we were able to improve the detection rate of acid-fast bacilli by microscopy after Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Compared with IS2404 PCR, which is the gold standard diagnostic method, the sensitivity and specificity of microscopy with 100 concentrated specimens were 58.4% and 95.7%, respectively. We subsequently evaluated a stepwise laboratory confirmation algorithm with detection of AFB as first-line method and IS2404 PCR performed only with those samples that were negative in microscopic analysis. This stepwise approach reduced unit cost by more than 50% to $5.41, and the total costs were reduced from $917 to $433.
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