Diagnostic value of mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA detection by polymerase chain reaction on bone tuberculosis

Bone tuberculosis is one destructive lesion caused by bone invasion of blood-borne mycobacterium tuberculosis that presents in human spine, hip, knee, elbow, hands, and feet. The early diagnosis of bone tuberculosis is difficult because of the lack of medical history, specific signs or bacterial culture in the early stage of the disease and also because of the lack of sensitivity of the parasitological methods available. This study thus investigated the value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in diagnosing bone tuberculosis targeting mycobacterium tuberculosis. A total of 115 bone tuberculosis samples were collected in parallel with 95 control samples. PCR was used to test mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA after culture. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied to test serum tuberculosis mycobacterium specific antibody (TB-SA) levels. There were 92 samples positive for TB-DNA (positive rate = 80.0%). Culture of TB showed 26 positive samples (22.6% positive rate). There were 60 samples were positive for TB-SA (52.5%). PCR showed a significantly higher positive rate than other two methods (P < 0.05). PCR approach has 80.0% sensitivity for TB, plus 9.7% specificity and 86.7% accuracy, which were higher than other methods. PCR method has higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting TB DNA. The advantage of the PCR method is that TBSA in samples or TB culture can be more rapidly detected than ELISA.