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Usefulness of multiplex PCR in the diagnosis of genital tuberculosis in females with infertility

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Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the usefulness of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) in detecting uterine tuberculosis in women with infertility. In a prospective study, endometrial curetting from 620 females with infertility were investigated using laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, histopathology, smear microscopy, mycobacterial culture in BACTEC MGIT™ 960, and in-house m-PCR. The mean age of the women was 29.75 ± 4.66 years. The majority (596) sought medical attention for infertility; of them, 455 (76.34 %) presented with primary and 141 (23.65 %) with secondary infertility. A total of 158 (25.48 %) women were diagnosed as having uterine tuberculosis by at least one of the diagnostic methods. Among them, laparoscopy was positive in 46 (29.11 %), hysteroscopy in 77 (48.73 %), histopathology in only 8 (5.06 %), smear for acid fast bacilli in 4 (2.53 %), and liquid culture in 24 (15.18 %) patients. The in-house m-PCR was positive in 135 (85.44 %) women. Of these, 129 (95.55 %) samples were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, while 6 (4.44 %) were positive for non-tuberculous mycobacterial DNA. Of the 129 M. tuberculosis PCR-positive women, 112 received anti-tubercular treatment and 23 of these conceived and fell pregnant after the completion of treatment. For the diagnosis of uterine tuberculosis, m-PCR was found to be the most efficient diagnostic tool compared to the other methods.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the help of Ms. Manisha Jain, Selvaraj Cynthiya, Veena Balooni, Shweta Tamta, Rashi Raizada, Shefali Jain, Mr. Hem Kumar, Mr. Balbir Singh, and Mr. Abhinav Kher in the collection of samples and clinical details. The authors also wish to thank Dr. Krishnamoorthy Gopinath and Mr. Sandeep Kumar for their help in the initial stages of the project. The study was partially funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (BT/ PR7761/ MED/ 14/1105/2006) to S.S. M.M.S. and P.K. worked as Senior Research Fellows on the project.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Microbiology Division, Department of Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110 029, India

    M. M. Sankar, P. Kumar, A. Munawwar, M. Kumar, J. Singh, A. Singh, D. Parashar & S. Singh

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India

    N. Malhotra

  3. Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India

    S. Duttagupta

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  1. M. M. Sankar
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  2. P. Kumar
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  3. A. Munawwar
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  4. M. Kumar
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  5. J. Singh
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  6. A. Singh
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  10. S. Singh
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Correspondence to S. Singh.

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Sankar, M.M., Kumar, P., Munawwar, A. et al. Usefulness of multiplex PCR in the diagnosis of genital tuberculosis in females with infertility. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 32, 399–405 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-012-1755-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-012-1755-y

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