RT Journal Article
T1 Optimized molecular resolution of cross-contamination alerts in clinical mycobacteriology laboratories
A1 Martín, Ana
A1 Herranz, Marta
A1 Martínez Lirola, Miguel
A1 Fernández Fernández, Rosa
A1 Bouza, Emilio
A1 García de Viedma, Darío
K1 Tuberculosis
K1 Errores Diagnósticos
K1 Estudios Prospectivos
K1 Reacciones Falso Positivas
AB BACKGROUND. The phenomenon of misdiagnosing tuberculosis (TB) by laboratory cross-contamination when culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) has been widely reported and it has an obvious clinical, therapeutic and social impact. The final confirmation of a cross-contamination event requires the molecular identification of the same MTB strain cultured from both the potential source of the contamination and from the false-positive candidate. The molecular tool usually applied in this context is IS6110-RFLP which takes a long time to provide an answer, usually longer than is acceptable for microbiologists and clinicians to make decisions. Our purpose in this study is to evaluate a novel PCR-based method, MIRU-VNTR as an alternative to assure a rapid and optimized analysis of cross-contamination alerts. RESULTS. MIRU-VNTR was prospectively compared with IS6110-RFLP for clarifying 19 alerts of false positivity from other laboratories. MIRU-VNTR highly correlated with IS6110-RFLP, reduced the response time by 27 days and clarified six alerts unresolved by RFLP. Additionally, MIRU-VNTR revealed complex situations such as contamination events involving polyclonal isolates and a false-positive case due to the simultaneous cross-contamination from two independent sources. CONCLUSION. Unlike standard RFLP-based genotyping, MIRU-VNTR i) could help reduce the impact of a false positive diagnosis of TB, ii) increased the number of events that could be solved and iii) revealed the complexity of some cross-contamination events that could not be dissected by IS6110-RFLP.
PB BMC Microbiology
SN 1471-2180
YR 2008
FD 2008-02-14
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/467
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/467
LA en
NO Martín A, Herranz M, Martínez Lirola M, Fernández Fernández R, Bouza E, García de Viedma D. Optimized molecular resolution of cross-contamination alerts in clinical mycobacteriology laboratories. BMC Microbiol.; 8:30
NO INDAL-TB group: MI Sánchez, MC Rogado, TCabezas, W SánchezYebra, J Martínez, MA Lucerna, P Barroso, I Cabeza-Barrera, LF Díez, M Rodríguez, M Escámez, P Marín, A Lazo, J Gamir, JVázquez, C Gutiérrez, A Reyes and T Peñafiel.  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;
DS RISalud
RD Apr 9, 2025