ArticleAfrican journal of laboratory medicine2020
Development of dried tube specimens for Xpert MTB/RIF proficiency testing.
Article in African journal of laboratory medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Clinical analysis of the onset characteristics and inducing factors of atypical renal tuberculosis.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Analysis of the onset characteristics and diagnosis of 217 cases of renal tuberculosis.European journal of medical research · 2025Article
- The development and implementation of a proficiency testing program for SARS-CoV-2 using dried tube specimens in resource-limited countries.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Advancing proficiency testing for ultra in resource-limited settings using dried tube specimen: A study by SRL-Uganda.PloS one · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundProficiency testing (PT) is part of a comprehensive quality assurance programme, which is critical to ensuring patients receive accurate and reliable diagnostic testing. Implementation of the Cepheid Xpert® MTB/RIF assay to aid in the diagnosis of tuberculosis has expanded rapidly in recent years; however, PT material for Xpert MTB/RIF is not readily available in many resource-limited settings.
objectiveTo develop an accurate and precise PT material based on the dried tube specimen (DTS) method, using supplies and reagents available in most tuberculosis culture laboratories.
methodsDried tube specimens were produced at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2013 to 2015 by inactivating liquid cultures of well-characterised mycobacterial strains. Ten percent of DTS produced were tested with Xpert MTB/RIF and evaluated for accuracy and precision.
resultsValidation testing across eight rounds of PT demonstrated that DTS are highly accurate, achieving an average of 96.8% concordance with the Xpert MTB/RIF results from the original mycobacterial strains. Dried tube specimen testing was also precise, with cycle threshold standard deviations below two cycles when inherent test cartridge variability was low.
conclusionDried tube specimens can be produced using equipment already present in tuberculosis culture laboratories, making Xpert MTB/RIF PT scale-up more feasible in resource-limited settings. Use of DTS may fill the gap in tuberculosis laboratory access to external quality assessment, which is an essential component of a comprehensive continuous quality improvement programme.
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