ArticleScientific reports2026
Leveraging rpoB amplicon signals from Xpert MTB/RIF ultra as a diagnostic opportunity for identifying Non-tuberculous mycobacteria in TB-negative specimens.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) present a diagnostic challenge due to clinical overlap with tuberculosis (TB). The Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay occasionally detects rpoB probe amplification in specimens negative for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). We evaluated whether rpoB amplification could indicate NTM infection and support diagnostic decision-making. Specimens showing rpoB probe amplification but negative for MTBC by Xpert Ultra were selected from TB Screening and Treatment Centers (TBSTC) of icddr, b between January and August 2024. Samples underwent further testing using PCR targeting rpoB and IS6110, culture, and targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) to detect and identify NTM species. Among 50 specimens with rpoB amplification, rpoB PCR positivity was confirmed in all cases. Atypical mycobacterial growth was observed in 43 (86%) isolates. tNGS identified 34 isolates as NTM, with Mycobacterium gordonae (20.5%) and Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus (17.6%) being the most prevalent; 3 were MTBC, and the 6 were not detected. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of rpoB2 threshold cycle (Ct) values demonstrated moderate diagnostic performance (AUC 0.807) with a Ct cutoff of 32.7 yielding 82.4% sensitivity, 77.8% specificity, and a positive predictive value of 93.3%. At a cutoff value of 32.7, the sensitivity and specificity for pulmonary samples were 90% and 100%, respectively, whereas for extrapulmonary samples they were 76% and 85%, respectively. These findings indicate that rpoB2 Ct values from the Xpert Ultra assay could provide additional diagnostic utility for identifying NTMs in MTBC-negative samples without additional costs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.