Comparative Evaluation of Conventional Media with Bactec MGIT 960 for Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Clinically Suspected Cases of Pulomonary and Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite being a treatable and preventable disease. The emergence of Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB had exacerbated the situation further. To prevent the spread of infection & to accelerate the administration of Anti-tubercular treatment, early detection of TB is required. Methodology: This Cross-sectional study was carried out on 236 samples clinically suspected cases of Pulmonary & Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis processed for Direct Ziehl-Neelsen Staining, Decontamination by NALC-NaOH and Culture in MGIT tubes & Lowenstein-Jensen Medium. Results: Out of 60 samples, 60(25.42%) were culture positive cases showed highest isolation rate by BACTEC MICRO MGIT as compared to LJ Medium 42(17.79%) with time of detection by BACTEC MICRO MGIT was 17 days and LJ Medium was 33.72 days. The Diagnostic accuracy of BACTEC MICRO MGIT when LJ Medium considered to be gold standard was also exhibited which showed sensitivity of 95.24%, Specificity of 89.69% while Negative Predictive value (NPV) & Positive Predictive value (PPV) was 98.86% and 66.67% respectively. The BACTEC MICRO MGIT detects mycobacteria early, with less contamination rates and has good sensitivity & specificity as compared to LJ Medium. Conclusion: So it can be concluded that BACTEC MICRO MGIT can be used as method of isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis either alone or in combination with LJ Medium.