Direct comparison of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid) with probeTEC (Becton-Dickinson) and Taqman MTB (Roche) for detection of TB bacteria

Background: With the GeneXpert MTB/RIF system, Cepheid and FIND have launched an innovative solution of TB diagnostics. It is easy to use, bio-safe, resistant to DNA-contamination, fulfilling many POCT criteria. As to detection of TB bacteria (MTBC) in respiratory specimens, a recent multi-centre-evaluation-study (Böhme et al. 2010) described 98.2% sensitivity in smear positive (ss+) sputa, 72.5% in smear negative (ss-) ones, while specificity reached 99.2%. These values are higher than most ones reported for commercial assays so far. Scope: Comparing Xpert head-to-head to probeTecTM MTBC (Becton-Dickenson) and…