Abstract Background and Aim: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major health risks throughout the world. The burden of TB has increased in the post-COVID era. Various testing modalities available are microscopy, culture, and molecular methods. Gene xpert is a novel choice to overcome challenges in diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of pulmonary TB (PTB) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB), and also to determine the resistance to rifampicin using the Gene xpert ultra method. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted over a period of 1 year. All the patients suspected of TB were enrolled, and an appropriate sample was sent to the microbiology laboratory for GeneXpert testing. Results: The prevalence of PTB and EPTB was found to be 34.7 and 24.7%, respectively. Rifampicin resistance was found to be 14% and 15% for PTB and EPTB, respectively. The most common sample in EPTB was pus/lymph node aspirate, accounting for 64.7%. The mean age of suspected patients was 48.8 years. The male-to-female ratio of the study population was 1.7:1. Conclusion: Early diagnosis of TB cases is the first step to achieve the TB elimination goal. Gene xpert is emerging to become the most promising tool in the diagnosis of TB, especially EPTB, because of the paucibacillary status.
Nayyar et al. (Wed,) studied this question.