Application of TB RNA Combined with Xpert Detection Technology in the Clinical Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

CHEN Weibin; ZHANG Chuanyi; WANG Weibin; ZHANG Mingyi

doi:10.14033/j.cnki.cfmr.2025.26.019

Abstract：Objective:To explore the application value of Mycobacterium tuberculosis RNA(TB RNA)combined with Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin resistance real-time fluorescent quantitative gene amplification(Xpert)detection technology.Method:A total of 150 patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to Hui'an County Hospital of Quanzhou City from September 2022 to November 2024 were selected as the research subjects.All patients received sputum collection after admission,and the sputum was divided into three equal parts.Subsequently,TB RNA detection,Xpert detection,and combined detection of TB RNA and Xpert were conducted.Taking the clinical diagnostic results such as clinical symptoms,imaging examinations,sputum culture or histopathological examination as the gold standard,the positive detection rate,detection time and detection efficacy of TB RNA detection and Xpert detection alone and in combination for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis were compared.Result:The clinical diagnosis results show that among the 150 patients suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis,a total of 129 patients were diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.Compared with individual detection,the positive detection rate of the combined diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis by TB RNA detection method and Xpert detection method was higher(P<0.05).Moreover,it will not prolong the detection time and can reflect the live bacteria in sputum specimens and assess the drug resistance situation.The accuracy,sensitivity and specificity of the TB RNA detection method were 85.33%,86.05%and 80.95%respectively,and those of the Xpert detection method were 86.67%,87.60%and 80.95%respectively.The accuracy,sensitivity and specificity of the combined detection were 93.33%,94.57%and 85.71%respectively.Conclusion:The combined diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis by TB RNA+Xpert detection method has high accuracy,sensitivity and specificity,considerable detection efficiency,and does not prolong the detection time.It can effectively evaluate the live bacteria and drug resistance of samples and is expected to provide an effective basis for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.