Low sensitivity of polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in southeastern Brazil

• Main Authors: Vânia Maria Sabadoto Brienze, Ângela Pedroso Tonon, Fabrício José Tarelho Pereira, Elisabete Liso, Waldir Antônio Tognola, Manoel Armando Azevedo dos Santos, Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2001
• Subjects: Diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis; PCR; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/ef5b991d200f4459b4de754e93c52414

Two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols showed low sensitivity (36% and 53% for TB AMPLICOR and MPB64 nested PCR, respectively), when compared with classic microbiological methods (73% and 54% for Ziehl-Neelsen staining and culture, respectively), in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in 91 patients in southeastern Brazil. Only three PCR-positive, microbiologically negative patients were found. Analysis of sequential cerebrospinal fluid samples by nested PCR detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA up to 29 days after the introduction of antituberculosis chemotherapy.