Diagnostic Accuracy of Molecular Testing on Saliva and Oral Swabs for Pulmonary Tuberculosis - PubMed
a day ago
- #diagnostic accuracy
- #tuberculosis
- #molecular testing
- The study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of molecular testing on saliva and oral swabs for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).
- A nested case-control study was conducted with 648 participants in Colombia, comparing saliva and swab tests against sputum culture.
- Saliva testing showed a sensitivity of 90.5% and specificity of 95.8%, exceeding the WHO target of ≥80% sensitivity.
- Oral swab testing had a sensitivity of 71.6% and specificity of 99%, lower than saliva but still highly specific.
- Saliva sensitivity was significantly higher than swab sensitivity by 18.9%, with no significant difference in specificity.
- Over 95% of participants found both saliva and swab collection procedures acceptable.
- The study concludes that both saliva and swabs are effective for TB diagnosis, with saliva being more sensitive.