Comparison of Fluorescence Microscopy with Ziehl-Neelsen Technique in the Examination of Sputum for Acid-Fast Bacilli Using Bleach Centrifugation Method

摘要

Background: The reliability of direct smear microscopy for diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) using Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) technique has frequently been questioned due to low sensitivity. Fluorescent microscopy (FM) is more sensitive than ZN but its sensitivity is less than culture. Treatment of sputum with bleach has been used to increase sensitivity in many settings. However, no study has compared use FM and ZN methods for detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) using bleach method.