Performance Evaluation of MolecuTech REBA Myco-ID Using HybREAD480 for Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria

Incorporating direct molecular diagnostics in management algorithms for nontuberculous mycobacteria: Is it high time?

“…Moreover, the positive predictive value (PPV) of REBA Myco-ID was found to be statistically significantly higher ( P = 0.004) compared to Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube TBc identification (MGIT 960-TBc ID) [4] . Additionally, when combined with HybREAD480, an instrument for automating the post-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) step, REBA Myco-ID exhibited an accuracy rate of 94.3% (181/192; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 90.0-97.1%) across 192 clinical samples, as compared to multigene sequencing-based typing [5] . A multi-center study evaluated a commercial biochip assay (Capital Bio, Beijing, China) based on 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequences that can identify 17 different NTM species within 6 hours from smear-positive sputum specimens showed 98.8% sensitivity (95% CI: 96.6-99.6) and 100% specificity (95% CI: 99.7-100) when compared to sequencing the traditional microbiology culture [6] .…”