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TB PCR test effective for intrathoracic granulomatous lymphadenopathy diagnosis

The use of the polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis test using endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration was effective in diagnosing intrathoracic granulomatous lymphadenopathy, even among some patients with non-diagnostic results, according to recent research.

“[Polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB-PCR)] using [endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration] samples is a useful laboratory test for diagnosing [intrathoracic granulomatous lymphadenopathy (IGL)],” Jung Seop Eom, MD, of the department of internal medicine at Pusan National University School of Medicine in Busan, Korea, and colleagues wrote. “Moreover, this method can prevent further invasive evaluation in patients whose histological and microbiological tests are nondiagnostic.”

Eom and colleagues retrospectively evaluated the results of 46 patients with IGL that were prospectively collected in a database between January 2010 and December 2014, according to the abstract. Sixteen patients had tuberculous lymphadenitis and 30 patients had sarcoidosis.

The researchers found the TB-PCR test had a 56% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value and 81% negative predictive value for tuberculous lymphadenitis, with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 85%, according to the abstract. There were seven patients (17%) with nondiagnostic results and of those patients, four had positive TB-PCR results. – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.