Study establishes most effective technique for diagnosing childhood tuberculosis in poor countries
Sunday, July 25, 2010 - 17:42
in Health & Medicine
A tuberculosis (TB) culture method called microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS), using two gastric aspirate specimens from each child tested, is significantly more sensitive and faster than conventional culture tests, diagnosing 70% more cases of pulmonary TB among children ages 12 years and under. This is the best available diagnostic test for confirming paediatric pulmonary tuberculosis in resource-poor settings, particularly in children with strong clinical evidence of TB, concludes an Article published Online First and in the August edition of the Lancet Infectious Diseases.