Diagnostic value of chemiluminescence for urinary lipoarabinomannan antigen assay in active tuberculosis: insights from a retrospective study

Purpose This study aimed to assess the efficacy of chemiluminescence-based urinary lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen assay as a diagnostic tool for identifying active tuberculosis. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 166 Tuberculosis (TB), 22 Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), 69 Non-TB cases, and 73 healthy controls from Zhangjiagang First Peoples Hospital between July 2022 and November 2022. Clinical and laboratory data were collected, including urine samples for LAM antigen detection, sputum samples and pleural effusion for GeneXpert, TB-DNA, and culture. Results TB group exhibited a higher LAM positivity rate (P Conclusion LAM antigen detection using chemiluminescence has demonstrated outstanding clinical diagnostic value for active TB, especially in the diagnosis of extrapulmonary TB. The convenience of sample collection in this diagnostic approach allows for widespread application in the clinical diagnosis of active tuberculosis, particularly in cases of EPTB and sputum-negative patients.