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Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Ireland

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1♦<str<strong>on</strong>g>Guidel<strong>in</strong>es</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Preventi<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> C<strong>on</strong>trol <strong>of</strong> <strong>Tuberculosis</strong> <strong>in</strong> Irel<strong>and</strong> 2010HSE/HPSCCl<strong>in</strong>icians need to be aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> limitati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se tests particularly <strong>in</strong> relati<strong>on</strong> to <strong>the</strong> types <strong>of</strong>specimens analysed, <strong>the</strong> commercial system <strong>in</strong> use <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> quality assurance programmes <strong>in</strong> place. 159-162Applicati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> NAAT for <strong>the</strong> diagnosis <strong>of</strong> TB <strong>in</strong> sputa, CSF, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> detecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> rifampic<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> is<strong>on</strong>iazidresistance <strong>in</strong> primary <strong>and</strong> reference specimens should be provided <strong>on</strong>ly where <strong>the</strong>re is an adequate<strong>in</strong>frastructure, primarily sufficient space for a unidirecti<strong>on</strong>al workflow <strong>and</strong> dedicated equipment. 163St<strong>and</strong>ardised methods with adequate <strong>and</strong> appropriate positive <strong>and</strong> negative c<strong>on</strong>trols should be used. 112A cost effective approach is to base <strong>the</strong>se tests <strong>in</strong> laboratories <strong>in</strong> Irel<strong>and</strong> with expertise <strong>in</strong> molecularbiology. For procedural <strong>and</strong> ec<strong>on</strong>omic reas<strong>on</strong>s, NAAT might be impractical for laboratories with a smallvolume <strong>of</strong> test<strong>in</strong>g. Referral <strong>of</strong> samples for NAAT to high-volume laboratories might be preferable toimprove cost-efficiency, pr<strong>of</strong>iciency <strong>and</strong> turnaround times. 1584.4 Process<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> Positive CulturesIdentificati<strong>on</strong> methodsPhenotypic methodsMicroscopic <strong>and</strong> col<strong>on</strong>ial morphology <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r growth characteristics are useful <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g a prelim<strong>in</strong>aryidentificati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> an acid-fast bacillus. Col<strong>on</strong>ies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tubercle bacilli are described as be<strong>in</strong>g “rough, tough<strong>and</strong> buff” <strong>on</strong> solid media <strong>and</strong> col<strong>on</strong>ies tend not to emulsify easily for mak<strong>in</strong>g smears. MTC form serpent<strong>in</strong>echords <strong>in</strong> liquid media <strong>and</strong> are easily observed with ZN sta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. These characteristics can lead to <strong>the</strong> mostrelevant tests be<strong>in</strong>g performed <strong>on</strong> each isolate to obta<strong>in</strong> identificati<strong>on</strong>. 127Probe techniquesProbe detecti<strong>on</strong> methods such as <strong>the</strong> AccuProbe, target<strong>in</strong>g ribosomal RNA gene, can identify <strong>the</strong> MTC,M. avium, M. <strong>in</strong>tracellulare, M. avium complex (MAC), M. gord<strong>on</strong>ae <strong>and</strong> M. kansasii. The technique isrelatively simple <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> results are available with<strong>in</strong> hours. The specificity has been shown to be 100% but<strong>the</strong> sensitivity can vary with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> species or species complexes. 124PCR <strong>and</strong> restricti<strong>on</strong> end<strong>on</strong>uclease analysisIn 1993, Telenti 164 modified <strong>the</strong> Polymerase Cha<strong>in</strong> Reacti<strong>on</strong> (PCR)-Restricti<strong>on</strong> End<strong>on</strong>uclease Analysistechnique, subsequently known as <strong>the</strong> PRA method, to allow for <strong>the</strong> rapid identificati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> mycobacteriato <strong>the</strong> species level. The method has been used extensively for mycobacterial identificati<strong>on</strong>. The pr<strong>in</strong>cipaldisadvantage is that it is not commercialised <strong>and</strong> does not have US Food <strong>and</strong> Drug Adm<strong>in</strong>istrati<strong>on</strong> (FDA)approval or carry CE3F mark<strong>in</strong>gs.PCR <strong>and</strong> reverse hybridisati<strong>on</strong> techniquesNew molecular biology techniques based <strong>on</strong> PCR <strong>and</strong> reverse hybridisati<strong>on</strong> procedures have recently beenmarketed for mycobacterial identificati<strong>on</strong>. The hybridisati<strong>on</strong> technique is performed <strong>on</strong> nitrocellulose strips<strong>on</strong>to which probe l<strong>in</strong>es are fixed <strong>in</strong> parallel. This format enables simultaneous detecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> identificati<strong>on</strong><strong>of</strong> different mycobacterial species. At present, two systems with this design are commercially available<strong>in</strong> Europe, <strong>the</strong> INNO-LiPA TM Mycobacteria v2 test, designed to amplify <strong>the</strong> mycobacterial 16S-23S rRNAspacer regi<strong>on</strong>, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> HAIN GenoType TM Mycobacteria assay, target<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> mycobacterial 23S rRNA. 165Both methods can be completed with<strong>in</strong> two work<strong>in</strong>g days <strong>and</strong> allow precise identificati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong>mycobacteria usually isolated <strong>in</strong> cl<strong>in</strong>ical laboratories. They are expensive to perform but this can be <strong>of</strong>fsetby <strong>the</strong> reducti<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> turnaround <strong>and</strong> labour times. These methods are available <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> United States as FDAapprovedtests <strong>and</strong> bear <strong>the</strong> CE mark <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> European Community.DNA sequenc<strong>in</strong>gThe availability <strong>of</strong> DNA sequenc<strong>in</strong>g technologies c<strong>on</strong>stitutes a great benefit for mycobacterialidentificati<strong>on</strong>, ow<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> slow growth <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se organisms. Recent improvements <strong>in</strong> automati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> targetamplificati<strong>on</strong> <strong>and</strong> sequence analysis have led to <strong>the</strong> practical implementati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> DNA sequenc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> somecl<strong>in</strong>ical laboratories. 124 The technique requires expensive equipment <strong>and</strong> is best reserved for referencelaboratories.♦The CE mark<strong>in</strong>g (also known as CE mark) is a m<strong>and</strong>atory c<strong>on</strong>formity mark <strong>on</strong> many products placed <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong>gle market <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>European Ec<strong>on</strong>omic Area (EEA).-51-

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