International Journal of Infectious Diseases (Jun 2018)

Comparison of the yield of tuberculosis among contacts of multidrug-resistant and drug-sensitive tuberculosis patients in Ethiopia using GeneXpert as a primary diagnostic test

  • Nebiyu Hiruy,
  • Muluken Melese,
  • Dereje Habte,
  • Degu Jerene,
  • Zewdu Gashu,
  • Genetu Alem,
  • Ilili Jemal,
  • Belay Tessema,
  • Beza Belayneh,
  • Pedro G. Suarez

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2018.03.011
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 71, no. C
pp. 4 – 8

Abstract

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Objectives: This study compared the yield of tuberculosis (TB) among contacts of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) index cases with that in drug-sensitive TB (DS-TB) index cases in a program setting. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among contacts of sputum smear-positive new DS-TB index cases and MDR-TB index cases. After contacts were screened, GeneXpert was used for the diagnosis of TB. Results: The study included 111 MDR-TB and 119 DS-TB index cases. A total of 340 and 393 contacts of MDR-TB and DS-TB index cases, respectively, were traced, of whom 331 among MDR-TB contacts and 353 among DS-TB contacts were screened. There were 20 (6%) presumptive TB cases for MDR-TB contacts and 41 (11%) for DS-TB contacts. The prevalence of TB among MDR-TB contacts was 2.7% and among DS-TB contacts was 4.0%. The majority of the MDR-TB contacts diagnosed with TB had MDR-TB; the reverse was true for DS-TB. Conclusions: The yield of TB among contacts of MDR-TB and DS-TB patients using GeneXpert was high as compared to the population-level prevalence. The likelihood of diagnosing rifampicin-resistant TB among contacts of MDR-TB index cases was higher in comparison with contacts of DS-TB index cases. The use of GeneXpert in DS-TB contact investigation has the added advantage of diagnosing rifampicin-resistant TB cases when compared to the use of the nationally recommended acid-fast bacillus (AFB) microscopy for DS-TB contact investigation.

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