High Bacillary Load Among Individuals Suspected of having Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diagnosed by Genexpert at the Hospital Central of the Armies in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
Abstract"
Introduction: This study investigated the molecular diagnosis of low bacillary load pulmonary tuberculosis by GeneXpert among individuals suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis at the Hospital Central of the Armies Pierre Mobengo in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Objective: To demonstrate the importance of the GeneXpert MTB7RIF technique in the detection of high bacillary load among individuals suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis.
Methodology: Ninety patients aged between 15 and 82 years, suspected of having pulmonary TB and consenting, were recruited when they came for their sputum examination at the medical biology laboratory of the Hôpital Central des Armées between July and November 2019. Three different tests were performed in each patient, including:(1) sputum BAARs microscopy, (2) Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection, and (3) rifampicin resistance detection by GeneXpert.
Results: Of a total of 90 patients, 28 patients were pulmonary TB detected by GeneXpert and 11 pulmonary TB patients were detected by microscopy. Of the 90 patients, 4 patients were resistant to rifampicin and 86 patients were not resistant. Concerning TB/HIV co-infection, 8 of the 20 HIV-infected patients were co-infected.
Conclusion: GeneXpert significantly improves the detection of tuberculosis, especially in patients with paucibacillary disease, TB/HIV co-infection and offers a more reliable detection of rifampicin.
