The incidence of false-positive cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
W J BurmanM D Cave

Abstract

The frequency of false-positive cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to cross-contamination has been difficult to determine because of the lack of specific strain markers. Isolates collected prospectively over 5 yr from a municipal health department laboratory underwent DNA fingerprinting using the IS6110 and pTBN12 sequences. We reviewed the clinical and laboratory records of all isolates that had matching DNA fingerprints and were processed within 42 d of each other; 8 isolates were classified as probable or definite false-positives, representing 4.0% (8/199) of the culture-positive patients. A convenience sample of 42 isolates from three other mycobacterial laboratories also underwent DNA fingerprinting, and five (12%) were found to be definite or probable false-positives. Cross-contamination during initial processing of specimens was the most common source of false-positive cultures. The source of cross-contamination for three false-positive cultures was a laboratory proficiency survey specimen containing strain H37Ra. Ten of the 13 patients were misdiagnosed as having tuberculosis, and seven received unnecessary multidrug treatment. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for false-positive cultures for M. tuber...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 30, 2000·Current Infectious Disease Reports·C D Hamilton
Feb 24, 2001·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·P SonnenbergP Godfrey-Faussett
Feb 7, 2001·The New England Journal of Medicine·W W Stead, J H Bates
Nov 30, 2000·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·W J Burman, R R Reves
Aug 21, 2001·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Y M HaleM Salfinger
Mar 5, 2004·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·L FitzpatrickI Onorato
Mar 11, 2000·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·K Schwartzman, D Menzies
May 12, 2000·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·E D ChanW E Hahn
Mar 20, 2001·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·J A CamineroD A Enarson
Feb 18, 2003·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·Henry M BlumbergUNKNOWN American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Infectious Diseases Society
Oct 13, 2004·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·Robert M JasmerUNKNOWN Tuberculosis Trials Consortium
Dec 2, 2009·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·Randall R Reves, William J Burman
Oct 27, 2005·American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·UNKNOWN American Thoracic SocietyUNKNOWN Infectious Diseases Society of America
Aug 4, 2009·BMC Microbiology·Niall De LappeMartin Cormican
May 8, 2001·American Journal of Clinical Pathology·J A IkonomopoulosC N Kittas
Nov 28, 2002·Emerging Infectious Diseases·Robert M JasmerEdward P Desmond
Nov 28, 2002·Emerging Infectious Diseases·Scott J N McNabbThomas R Navin
Mar 16, 2005·The Lancet Infectious Diseases·Aeesha N J Malik, Peter Godfrey-Faussett
May 16, 2000·Chest·M Lauzardo, D Ashkin
Oct 21, 1998·Infectious Disease Clinics of North America·D E Griffith
May 9, 2006·Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease·David A J MooreJon S Friedland
May 3, 2003·FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology·Luz M López-MarínMario César Salinas-Carmona
Sep 12, 2006·Clinical Microbiology and Infection : the Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases·V J CookR K Elwood
Aug 16, 2016·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Payam NahidAndrew Vernon
Mar 27, 2012·The Journal of Infectious Diseases·Ibrahim AbubakarAlimuddin Zumla
Sep 1, 2000·Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology : the Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America·B NivinS Munsiff
Jun 25, 2020·Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases·Mohammad AsgharzadehHossein Samadi Kafil
Oct 21, 2020·Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society·Peter R DonaldAnneke C Hesseling

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

American Thoracic Association Journals

Discover the latest respiratory research published by the journals from the American Thoracic Society.