Introduction.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious-contagious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB generally affects lungs, although it can also spread and affect other organs. Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility (MODS) method has been proved to be a fast, sensitive, specific and low-cost tool that can be useful to improve the diagnosis of TB.

Objective.

To compare the MODS assay with conventional microbiological techniques for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in La Paz, Bolivia.

Methodology.

The study population was symptomatic respiratory patients (SR) who attended Health Centers belonging to the National Network of Tuberculosis Laboratories in La Paz, Bolivia. A total of 150 sputum samples were collected, 75 bacilloscopic positive and 75 bacilloscopic negative.

Results.

Comparison between MODS assay and bacilloscopy using the commercial Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) culture as a gold standard gave for MODS a sensitivity and specificity of 100%, while for bacilloscopy, a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 93% were obtained. The average elapsed time for the availability of positive results in MODS was 6 days compared with LJ culture where the average was 23 days.

Conclusion.

The MODS test outperforms the conventional microbiological methods used in Bolivia; since it was able to detect M. tuberculosis in sputum samples with high sensitivity, specificity, speed and reduced economic and technological investment.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )