Diagnostic Accuracy of Molecular Testing on Saliva and Oral Swabs for Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Key Points

• The study aims to evaluate the accuracy of saliva and oral swabs for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis compared to traditional methods.
• Conducted tests on saliva and oral swabs from individuals diagnosed with pulmonary TB.
• Measured the sensitivity and specificity of the tests against culture-confirmed TB results.
• Compared findings to the World Health Organization's diagnostic performance targets.
• Saliva demonstrated higher sensitivity than the WHO's 80% target for TB diagnostics.
• Both saliva and oral swabs showed high specificity for detecting pulmonary TB.