Abstract Use of polymerase chain reaction for improved diagnosis of tuberculosis in children

T.H. Tang¹, M. Musa¹, Z.F. Zainuddin¹, K.E. Choo²,L. Mohd Noh¹, K A. Myat¹,
1. Yaacob¹, H. Ismail², M. Mustaffa³ and Maheran Musa²

¹School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Cawangan Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia;
²Paediatric Unit, Kota Bharu Hospital, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia; 3Chest Clinic,
Kota Bharu Hospital, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

(Received 8 December 1998 / Accepted 26 February 1999)

Abstract.
Tuberculosis (TB) in children is severe especially for those under 5 years old, with a tendency to extrapulmonary spread to other organs with high morbidity and mortality. Thus, in contrast to most adult cases, TB in children often requires urgent treatment but diagnosis is often difficult to establish by clinical and conventional laboratory methods. Rapid tests based on molecular techniques for diagnosis of TB have been widely reported but relatively few involve paediatric cases. In this study, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based test using primers derived from the insertion sequence IS 6110 and a new Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex specific target designated as B9 was developed and used for detecting the organism in specimens taken from four paediatric patients. This method was found to be a useful addition to the current battery of tests available to the paediatrician particularly in cases where diagnoses are difficult to establish.

Keywords: B9, IS6110, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, paediatric, PCR