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Thorax 55:955-957 doi:10.1136/thorax.55.11.955
  • Original article

The ligase chain reaction as a primary screening tool for the detection of culture positive tuberculosis

Table 2

Comparison of smear and ligase chain reaction in culture positive tuberculosis

Smear Ligase chain reaction
Sensitivity 66.7% (48.2 to 82.0) 93.9% (80 to 99)
Specificity 100% (99.8 to 100) 99.8% (99.4 to 99.9)
Positive predictive value 100% (84.6 to 100) 83.8% (68.0 to 93.8)
Negative predictive value 99.5% (99.2 to 99.8) 99.9% (99.7 to 99.9)
p value (χ2test) <0.0001 <0.0001
  • Values are percentages with 95% confidence intervals in parentheses.

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