Laboratory Tests for Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diagnosis in Adults From Lower-Middle-Income Countries in Southeast Asia : Systematic Review

Pulmonary Tuberculosis remains a global public health problem in lower middle income countries of the ASEAN, where due to inadequate resources diagnostic limitations contribute to delayed detection and treatment. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of selected laboratory test used by these lower middle income countries. A structured literature search was conducted that assessed the sensitivity, specificity and predicted values of the selected diagnostic methods, adhering to the PRISMA guidelines and quality appraisal was done using QUADAS-2. Preliminary synthesis indicates that GeneXpert demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity as compared to conventional microscopy. TB LAMP present a feasible alternative in low resource countries.