Tuberculosis - Laboratory Investigation Flashcards
What are the four levels to laboratory diagnosis of MTB?
Smear/Direct microscopy
Rapid molecular diagnostic tests
Culture media both solid and liquid
Drug susceptibility testing (molecular assays, liquid or solid medium methods)
What are some of the benefits/downfalls of each diagnostic method for MTB?
Microscopy -> same day detection but poor sensitivity
Line probe assays -> first 24/48 hours
Direct culture and susceptiblity takes weeks to months
What is suggested as the best method of ast for tb and why?
Reference labs suggest direct susceptibility as the gold standard
Molecular methods can only detect the presence of genes known to confer resistance but this doesnt always represent the clinical picture
Molecular methods are also unable to identify resistance due to new mechanisms/genes -> if the mutation is new or unkown then it will come up falsely negative
Give a quick breakdown of the lab investigation for tb
specimen receipt into ab within 24 hrs of specimen collection
process and concentrate sample (decontaminate)
Acid fast microscopy -> report <24hrs
Liquid culture e.g. automated MGIT
Recovery of organism (10-14 days)
Identification of species (21 days of recepit)
Susceptibility testing
Talk about decontamination step for TB
NACL NaOH used to decontaminate specimen of any respiratory tract flora/oral flora
Talk about decontamination step for TB
NACL NaOH used to decontaminate specimen of any respiratory tract flora/oral flora
From a lab point of view how do we confirm a TB
Isolation of MTC (excluding M. bovis BCG) from a clinical specimen e.g. liquid culture positive
OR
Detection of MTC nucleic acid in a clinical specimen
AND
positive microscopy for AFB
i.e. positive liquid culture or NAAT as well as AFB on smear
What kind of specimens are suitable for TB investigation?
Non Sterile Sites such as:
- pulmonary: sputa, BAL, BRW, BA
- renal: urine
Sterile sites:
- pleural fluids, joint fluids, CSF etc
- tissue
What kind of specimens are suitable for TB investigation?
Non Sterile Sites such as:
- pulmonary: sputa, BAL, BRW, BA
- renal: urine
Sterile sites:
- pleural fluids, joint fluids, CSF etc
- tissue
What kind of sample is required for query TB meningitis?
2 CSF samples needed to enhance senstivity
Give some exampls of inappropriate specimens for TB investigation
Faeces -> commensal mycobacteria, difficult to interpret, difficult to decontaminate
Urine for the investigation of pulmonary TB
How should sputa or urine be collected?
clean, sterile plastic container
Before commencement of therapy
Early morning samples
Procured on 3 consecutive days
5-10mls ideally but min 2mls
Non salivary sputa
Not pooled
Refrigerated if delay in transport
Why is an early morning sample ideal?
Lying down all night -> aids pooling of bacteria -> first expectorate/urine ideal -> collection of bacteria
Highest bacterial count
What culture media is used for TB?
MGIT -> liquid culture
Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) slopes - solid
If AFB negative smear what should you do?
Usually wait for consultant to request a molecular test as AFB neg doesnt always mean TB neg
High clinical suspicion important
How do we carry out molecular detection of TB?
Direct detection of nucleic acid using the GeneXpert
What are some of the main safety considerations surrounding TB specimen processing safety?
(7)
Environmental persistence of TB - think of resistant cell wall
Aerosol formation + inhalation
Hazard Group 3 pathogen
Cat3 lab + biosafety cabinet
Centrifugation
Disinfection and autoclaving of equipment
Vaccination of staff and mantoux testing if necessary
What kind of lab is TB processing done in?
(3)
Must be done in a category 3 containment lab
Must be done in a biosafety cabinet with an installed air filtration system with HEPA filters insalled
How persistent is TB in the environment?
TB can resist disinfection and somatic stress
What risk is there surrounding centrifugation of TB specimens?
Poses the risk of aerosols and therefore inhalation
Risk of breakages
Sealed buckets must be used to prevent aerosols
How is equipment disinfected post TB processing?
Disinfected in hypochlorite solution and then autoclaved
How should staff be prepared for TB processing?
Staff should be appropriatly trained
BCG vaccinated
If exposed or signs of symptoms etc then Mantoux skin test should be carried out
Why do we need to decontaminate sputa for TB testing?
There are lots of commensals present in sputa samples -> these will overgrow/outgrow any mycobacteria if allowed to do so
We want to kill as many of these commensals while preserving as much mycobacteria as we can
What is the most common method of decontamination for TB samples?
2% NaOH
This oftens involves a mucolytic agent such as N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC) or sputasol
What is the ideal contamination rate of a sputa sample?
Between 2-5% required
<2% is too harsh and you will kill too much mycobacteria
>5% is too weak and the mycobacteria will become overgrown
How do we decon for TB?
NaCL NaOH made up daily
Equal volumes used
Vortex for 20 seconds
Let stand at room temperature for 15 mins
Does decon interfere with downstream culturing or detection methods?
NO decon using NaCl NaOH is validated on both the MGIT and the LPAs
What does MGIT stand for?
Mycobacterial Growth Indicaor Tube (MGIT)
Talk about the use of microscopy for TB
(3)
Microscopy should be performed after homogenisation but before decontamination, or it should be done directly from samples
Smear positives indicates presumptive diagnosis of TB and infectivity i.e. if smear positive then def positive and infectious
Smear negative doesnt necessariy mean negative but indicates less infectious
Talk about the use of microscopy for TB
(3)
Microscopy should be performed after homogenisation but before decontamination, or it should be done directly from samples
Smear positives indicates presumptive diagnosis of TB and infectivity i.e. if smear positive then def positive and infectious
Smear negative doesnt necessariy mean negative but indicates less infectious
What are the five main benefits of carrying out TB microscopy?
Used to determine whether isolation is required -> are they infectious or not
Influences the extent of contact tracing - more tracing needed if highly infecitous etc
Used to monitor treatment - negative smear good indicator that treatment is working
Results should be available within one working day
Both viable and non-viable organisms will stain
What are the two smear stains available for TB?
Auramine-O stain
Ziehl Neelson
Compare the use of Auramine O versus ZN?
Limit of detection about 10^4 bacilli/ml (10,000) for AFB but 5x10^3 (5000) for ZN i.e. need more bacteria for AO
However you dont need a fluorescent microscope for the ZN stain which makes it a better choice for high burden countries such as Africa
Compare the use of Auramine O versus ZN?
Limit of detection about 10^4 bacilli/ml (10,000) for AFB but 5x10^3 (5000) for ZN i.e. need more bacteria for AO
However you dont need a fluorescent microscope for the ZN stain which makes it a better choice for high burden countries such as Africa
What are five factors that affect the sensitivity of smears?
Quality of specimen
If prepared prior to or post decontamination
Centrifugal force
Type of stain (auramine/direct Zn)
Experience of Reader
What is the requirement for a positive ZN?
Magnification at 1000 or >oil for 15 minutes or 300 fields
-> must see 1 bacillus
What is required for a positive Auramine O?
Magnification of approximatel 150 dry (not oil) for 2-3 minutes 30 fields (80)
Must see 3 bacilli
In routine labs why is auramine O the preferred stain for TB?
(2)
10% more sensitive than ZN with similar specificity
Lower magnification and less time required
what % of culture positive specimens are smear positive?
About 50% of culture positives are smear positive
What are five limitations of microscopy for TB?
Cannot distinguish between dead and living bacilli
High bacterial load >3000-5000AFB/ml is required for detection
Cannot distinguish between species
No indication of drug susceptibility
Some patient cohorts will have a much lower amount of TB in sputa -> HIV and children will always have a lower bacilli count
What is the go to solid media for TB?
Lowenstein-Jensen medium slopes
What does the LJ slopes contain?
Eggs
Malachite green
Glycerol (for MTB) or pyruvate (M. bovis)
PANTA cocktail
What are the components of the PANTA cocktail?
Polymyxin
Amphotericin
Nalidixic acid
Trimethoprim
Azlocillin
What does the malachite green component of LJ medium do?
Malachite green -> mycobacterium quite resistant to this but everything else is susceptible
What must be added to Lowenstein-Jensen media to favour growth of MTB vs M. bovis
For MTB add glycerol
For M. bovid add pyruvate
What are the pros and cons of LJ slopes?
- 4 of each
Can detect as few as 10 viable cells
Easy and economical to prepare
Lower contamination rates then with liquid media
Isolated colonies with characterisitic tough, rough and buff colonial morphology can be observed
MTB takes between 14-28 days to grow but can take 8 weeks to grow if patient is on treatment
Need to be checked at regular intervals
If contamination does occur it covers the total surface of the medium
DST difficult to perform using egg-based media
Why is drug susceptibility testing more difficult to perform using egg-based media?
This is because some drugs must be adjusted to account for their loss by heating or by interaction with certain components of the egg
What is the go-to liquid media for TB?
(2)
Middlebrook 7H9 Broth
Its supplemented with glycerol to make it more suitable for M TB growth