Sensititre MycoTB plate compared to Bactec MGIT 960 for first- and second-line antituberculosis drug susceptibility testing in Tanzania: a call to operationalize MICs.

MIC testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis is now commercially available. Drug susceptibility testing by the MycoTB MIC plate has not been directly compared to that by the Bactec MGIT 960. We describe a case of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in Tanzania where initial MIC testing may have prevented acquired resistance. From testing on archived isolates, the accuracy with the MycoTB plate was >90% for important first- and second-line drugs compared to that with the MGIT 960, and clinically useful quantitative interpretation was also provided.