Stool testing for pulmonary TB diagnosis in adults

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is acidfast and able to survive in the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, bacteria can be found in stool if sputum is swallowed. In this study, the accuracy of different diagnostic stool and culture) among adults with pulmonary TB (PTB) were assessed and compared with sputum culture. METHODS: Embase and PubMed were searched to identify studies with data on stool testing among patients with clinically presumed or microbiologically RESULTS: Thirteen relevant studies were included. Apooled sensitivity of one or more of the three TB identifying methods was 79.1% (95% CI 61.5-92.5). The sensitivity of stool microscopy, PCR and culture was respectively 41.1% (95%CI 24.9-58.2), 89.7% (95% CI 81.4-95.9) and 38.0% (95% CI 26.2-50.6). The heterogeneity of the studies included was high.