A direct rifampicin sensitivity test for tubercle bacilli.

A direct sensitivity test for rifampicin has been standardised for early detection of resistance for the mycobacterium tuberculosis smear positive sputum samples. Indirect sensitivity tests set up from primary cultures of the same samples served as controls. The direct test showed 95 per cent agreement with the standard indirect test and as such 74 per cent and 90 per cent of the resistant strains were detected by the fourth week and fifth week, respectively, with an overall gain of 4-5 wks time. Resistance could be detected earlier for multibacillary specimens. This direct sensitivity test on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium offers a feasible alternative for laboratories which lack facilities to perform drug susceptibility tests by the rapid but sophisticated and costly BACTEC method. The method is simple to perform, economic, reliable and amenable to confirmation by the indirect test, if needed.