Nested polymerase chain reaction for assessing the clinical course of tuberculous meningitis

Neurology. 2005 May 24;64(10):1789-93. doi: 10.1212/01.WNL.0000162052.13838.B2.

Abstract

The authors examined the usefulness of nested PCR (N-PCR) to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) DNA in CSF for assessing the clinical course of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). N-PCR successfully detected MTB DNA in all nine CSF samples from patients with suspected TBM. During anti-tuberculosis treatments, N-PCR results converted from positive to negative, correlating with the improvement of the patient's clinical condition.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid / chemistry*
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid / microbiology
  • DNA, Bacterial / analysis*
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / genetics*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / trends
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tuberculosis, Meningeal / cerebrospinal fluid*
  • Tuberculosis, Meningeal / diagnosis*
  • Tuberculosis, Meningeal / microbiology

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents
  • DNA, Bacterial