Larsson S, Shrestha MP, Pokhrel BM, Upadhyay MP, Shrestha KB. The glutaraldehyde test as a rapid screening method for pulmonary tuberculosis: a preliminary report.
ANNALS OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND PARASITOLOGY 1990;
84:111-7. [PMID:
2116775 DOI:
10.1080/00034983.1990.11812443]
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Abstract
When equal parts of EDTA-blood and 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution were mixed, a shorter gelification time was observed in blood from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis--diagnosed by clinical and X-ray examination--than in blood from patients with other respiratory diseases or with non-respiratory diseases, or from healthy volunteers. Of a total of 539 persons tested, 267 had pulmonary tuberculosis as judged by clinical and X-ray examination and 238 of these reacted positively to the glutaraldehyde test with a gelification time of less than 10 minutes. When clinical examination and X-ray evaluation are used as bases for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the glutaraldehyde test gives a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 95%. It is suggested that this simple and cheap method, together with clinical examination, might be a useful screening tool for identifying cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in peripheral health posts in developing countries where X-ray and other facilities are lacking.
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