Letters to the EditorDoes the MGIT 960 System Improve the Turnaround Times for Growth Detection and Susceptibility Testing of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex?

摘要

The nonradiometric and fully automated Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube 960 system (MGIT 960; Becton Dickinson Microbiology Systems, Sparks,) has been proposed as a more efficient alternative to the semiautomated and radiometric BACTEC 460TB system (4, 5). However, it is noteworthy that to date, only two prospective studies (1, 2) have examined the turnaround time (TAT) of the first-generation protocol (the manual 4-ml MGIT) for this assay with respect to both growth detection and susceptibility testing of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Importantly, those studies assessed only a limited number of samples drawn from repositories, rather than actual patient specimens, and only one of the two compared the MGIT with the BACTEC system (1). Similar studies to assess the performance of the fully automated 7-ml MGIT 960 have not yet been reported. Since the health care provider has to make decisions concerning discontinuation of certain drugs or significantly changing the drug regimen upon receipt of susceptibility testing results, it is important that the entire TAT be examined, from specimen collection (or receipt in the laboratory) through reporting of susceptibility results.