Urine TB LAM as a Tool for Helping Diagnosis and Follow Up of Treatment Response of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate role of urine Tuberculosis Lipoarabinomannam (TB LAM) in making a diagnosis among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six cases of HIV negative who were suspected of pulmonary tuberculosis were recruited, sputum examination of acid fast stain and culture, chest x-ray, urine TB LAM were sent, bronchoscopy and washing and biopsy were performed among 12 cases. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients were finally diagnosed as tuberculosis. The sensitivity of urine TB LAM was 66.7%, specificity was 90%. CONCLUSION: TB LAM should be used as an add-on to clinical judgement in combination with other tests. Keywords: urine TB LAM, pulmonary tuberculosis