Journal of Medical Diagnostic Methods
Open Access

Abstract

Evaluation of the BACTEC MGIT 960 TB with Solid Media for Recovery of Mycobacteria from Extrapulmonary Specimens in South Tunisia

Salma Smaoui, Sana Kammoun, Chema Marouane, Leila Slim and Férièle Messadi-Akrout

The slow growth of M. tuberculosis complex is a major challenge for TB diagnosis, hence the importance of using media to obtain quick results. We compared the system MGIT960 to solid media: LJ and Coletsos in the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. A total of 634 extrapulmonary samples were processed for direct AFB smear examination, and culture on MGIT960 and solid media. 98 strains were isolated by the three media (15.4%). The mycobacterial recovery rate was 93.8%, 77.5% and 70.4% respectively for MGIT960, LJ and Coletsos media. The mean turnaround time for mycobacterial growth for MGIT960 was 18.5 ± 7.6 days. It was respectively 44.8 ± 19.3 and 42.8 ± 19 days for LJ and Coletsos media. Unlike most studies, the MGIT960 contamination rate (1.7%) was lower than that of solid media (2.2% for LJ and 2.5% for Coletsos). The MGIT 960 offers several advantages: speed, sensitivity and ease of use.