Publication

Abstract : V.V. RADHAKRISHNAN AND A. MATHAI. 1991. In an attempt to establish an alternative to standard bacteriological methods in the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM), a simple dot‐immunobinding assay (Dot‐Iba) was standardized to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen 5 and antimycobacterial antibody in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens of patients with TBM. Sensitivity and specificity of Dot‐Iba was compared with conventional enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and standard bacteriological techniques. The Dot‐Iba showed excellent correlation with indirect ELISA for the detection of antimycobacterial antibody in CSF and showed 60% sensitivity and 100% specificity in culture‐negative patients with TBM. However Dot‐Iba was less sensitive for the detection of antigen 5 in CSFs and showed false negative results (60%) in culture‐positive patients with TBM.