Second-Line Drug Susceptibility Testing (SL-DST) for Tuberculosis:Introduction, Principle, Procedure, Result-Interpretation, and Keynotes

Phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the BACTEC MGIT 960 system

Introduction Second-line drug susceptibility testing (SL-DST) for tuberculosis is a crucial laboratory procedure designed to detect resistance to anti-TB drugs used when first-line treatment fails (i.e., multidrug-resistant TB – MDR-TB).  Principle SL-DST measures the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to specific agents by determining the Critical …

Read more

Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra: Introduction, Principle, Procedure, Result-Interpretation, Uses, and Keynotes

GeneXpert Dx System software interface displaying a completed diagnostic result for an Xpert MTB-RIF Ultra assay

Introduction Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra is an automated diagnostic test designed for the rapid and simultaneous detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and resistance to rifampin (RIF). It is a second-generation assay developed by Cepheid to provide significantly higher sensitivity than the original Xpert MTB/RIF, particularly for …

Read more