OBJECTIVES: To audit the time taken to obtain laboratory confirmation of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis using in-house methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture and referral to a reference laboratory. METHODS: Retrospective collection of data from laboratory records covering a period of 1 year. RESULTS: Median time to microbiological diagnosis of a new infection using the in-house services in addition to the reference laboratory was 22.0 days. Using reference laboratory results alone, median time to diagnosis would have been 61.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Development of on-site laboratory facilities to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis can reduce the time to its identification by almost two-thirds.
OBJECTIVES: To audit the time taken to obtain laboratory confirmation of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis using in-house methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture and referral to a reference laboratory. METHODS: Retrospective collection of data from laboratory records covering a period of 1 year. RESULTS: Median time to microbiological diagnosis of a new infection using the in-house services in addition to the reference laboratory was 22.0 days. Using reference laboratory results alone, median time to diagnosis would have been 61.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Development of on-site laboratory facilities to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis can reduce the time to its identification by almost two-thirds.