MTB/RIF

Indications

• drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Principle

• uses polymerase-chain-reaction testing to detect variants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene (rpoB) associated with drug resistance
• turnaround time is 2 hours
• sensitivity:
  • ~98% sensitive in detecting culture-positive TB
  • > 99% for smear- & culture-positive cases
  • 72% for smear-negative culture-positive cases
• sensitivity 99%, specificity 100% in detecting rifampin resistance

Notes

• $60 to perform; instruments themselves cost $30,000 (2010)

More general terms

• point of care test