Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as an Alternative to Conventional Smear Microscopy in Pulmonary Tuberculosis
- 1Microbiology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, IND
- 2Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Vijaypur, IND
- 3Internal Medicine, MM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Mullana, IND
Abstract
Background
Timely and accurate diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a cornerstone of optimal disease management. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a simple yet potentially useful novel diagnostic tool for TB diagnosis that requires minimal resources. This pilot study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of TB-LAMP in diagnosing PTB in adults.Methods
A prospective observational study was conducted, enrolling 100 adults with symptoms suggestive of PTB. Sputum samples were collected and subjected to smear microscopy, culture, GeneXpert, and TB-LAMP in parallel. A composite reference standard (CRS) involving clinical, microbiological, and radiological parameters was used for comparison. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the TB-LAMP assay and other diagnostic tests were calculated.Results
This study demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of TB-LAMP compared with the CRS of 74.36% and 91.80%, respectively. TB-LAMP helped identify cases that conventional techniques missed, highlighting its potential for early TB detection.Conclusion
This study demonstrates the feasibility and diagnostic potential of TB-LAMP for detecting PTB in adults. Its sensitivity and specificity underscore its potential role in accurate diagnosis. However, further validation in a larger and more diverse cohort is required to support its integration into routine TB diagnostic algorithms.
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BibTeX
@article{sharma2026loopmediated,
title = {{Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as an Alternative to Conventional Smear Microscopy in Pulmonary Tuberculosis}},
author = {Shivani Sharma and Parakriti Gupta and Anand Singhal and Ivneet Kour and Harpreet Kaur and Varsha Gupta and Lipika Singhal},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.117122},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717420},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as an Alternative to Conventional Smear Microscopy in Pulmonary Tuberculosis
AU - Shivani Sharma
AU - Parakriti Gupta
AU - Anand Singhal
AU - Ivneet Kour
AU - Harpreet Kaur
AU - Varsha Gupta
AU - Lipika Singhal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.117122
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717420
AB - Background Timely and accurate diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a cornerstone of optimal disease management. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a simple yet potentially useful novel diagnostic tool for TB diagnosis that requires minimal resources. This pilot study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of TB-LAMP in diagnosing PTB in adults.Methods A prospective observational study was conducted, enrolling 100 adults with symptoms suggestive of PTB. Sputum samples were collected and subjected to smear microscopy, culture, GeneXpert, and TB-LAMP in parallel. A composite reference standard (CRS) involving clinical, microbiological, and radiological parameters was used for comparison. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the TB-LAMP assay and other diagnostic tests were calculated.Results This study demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of TB-LAMP compared with the CRS of 74.36% and 91.80%, respectively. TB-LAMP helped identify cases that conventional techniques missed, highlighting its potential for early TB detection.Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility and diagnostic potential of TB-LAMP for detecting PTB in adults. Its sensitivity and specificity underscore its potential role in accurate diagnosis. However, further validation in a larger and more diverse cohort is required to support its integration into routine TB diagnostic algorithms.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -