What is it about?
Tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease killer and meningitis is the most lethal form of the disease. This article discusses the challenges of diagnosing tuberculous meningitis and the importance of integrating clinical information, radiologic studies, and cerebrospinal fluid analyses to make a diagnosis using experienced clinical judgement. Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra is a promising next generation fully automated PCR test that can confirm the clinical diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis and determine resistance to rifampicin.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Prompt diagnosis and initiation of anti-tuberculous treatment is imperative to prevent death and neurologic sequelae from tuberculous meningitis.
Perspectives
Tuberculosis cases are expected to increase globally with population growth and urban crowding. The roll-out of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra will improve the ability of clinicians to rapidly diagnose and treat patients with tuberculosis including tuberculous meningitis.
Jerome Chin
New York University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra: the long-awaited game changer for tuberculous meningitis?, European Respiratory Journal, October 2017, European Respiratory Society (ERS),
DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01201-2017.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
