TITLE:
The Diagnostic Efficacy of Interferon-Gamma Release Assays Combined with GeneXpert MTB/RIF Detection for Urinary Tract Tuberculosis
AUTHORS:
Tianzi Qin, Liang Jie, Wentong Ya, Dongdong Meng, Fu Gan, Jichao Wu, Yi Long
KEYWORDS:
Urinary Tuberculosis, Interferon-Gamma Release Assays, GeneXpert MTB/RIF, Diagnostic Efficacy
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.14 No.1,
December
31,
2025
ABSTRACT: Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) combined with GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) in the diagnosis of urinary tuberculosis. Methods: A total of 105 patients with clinically suspected urinary tuberculosis who visited the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities from January 2022 to June 2024 were selected. Urine acid-fast bacillus smear, Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, IGRA, and Xpert were performed on all patients. The diagnostic efficacy of each method was compared. Results: In this study, there were 59 positive cases (59/105, 56.2%) and 46 negative cases (46/105, 43.8%) of urinary tuberculosis. Among them, 19 cases (19/59, 32.2%) were confirmed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, and the remaining 40 cases (40/59, 67.8%) were diagnosed through clinical comprehensive judgment. The detection rate of IGRA combined with Xpert (53/59, 89.8%) was significantly higher than that of smear (17/59, 28.8%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture (19/59, 32.2%), IGRA (39/59, 66.1%), and Xpert (46/59, 78.0%), and the differences were statistically significant (all P P P P > 0.0125). The positive predictive value of Xpert + IGRA combined detection was higher than that of smear (P P P > 0.0125). In addition, the sensitivity of combined detection in 40 cases with negative culture but clinically confirmed was 87.1%. Conclusion: The preliminary results show that IGRA combined with Xpert has high diagnostic efficacy in the diagnosis of urinary tuberculosis. However, these conclusions are limited by the single-center and small sample size, and need to be verified by large-scale prospective studies.