Clinical, Laboratory and Radiological Correlates of Xpert MTB/RIF Assay Study in Cerebrospinal Fluid in CNS Tuberculosis

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Xpert MTB/RIF assay is an initial test for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Nevertheless, it is not very clear which of the factors govern CSF-Gene Xpert/MTB positivity. Hence, we aimed to assess the relationship, if any, between the clinical, laboratory and radiological parameters of the central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis patients and the Gene Xpert study in CSF in such patients. First, we studied 200 patients with CNS tuberculosis according to the case definition, and subsequently, we performed a Gene Xpert study on the CSF of these patients. Then, we correlated the clinical, radiological, and CSF criteria with the Gene Xpert positivity using the univariate binary logistic regression method via SPSS 20 (P-value