To evaluate the accuracy of the CapitalBioMycobacterium real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection test for pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection. We analyzed 2460 samples from patients with suspected pulmonary mycobacterial infection collected between June 1, 2018, and July 31, 2019, to determine the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the curve (AUC) of the CapitalBio Mycobacterium detection test for MTB and NTM infections and to evaluate its diagnostic accuracy compared with mycobacterial culture. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC of the CapitalBio Mycobacterium detection test for MTB was 83.0%, 79.9%, 80.8%, 82.2%, and 0.81, respectively. This was similar to the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF for MTB and was significantly higher than that of smear. For pulmonary NTM infection, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC of the test was 82.0%, 99.6%, 94.1%, 98.5%, and 0.91, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of the CapitalBio Mycobacterium detection test was also significantly higher than that of smear for NTM. The CapitalBio Mycobacterium detection test has good diagnostic accuracy for MTB and NTM infections. It is of great significance in the differential diagnosis of early pulmonary mycobacterial infection.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of nanopore sequencing for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) using smear-negative clinical specimens. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study based on a review of patient medical records to assess the accuracy of nanopore sequencing as a diagnostic tool for smear-negative PTB. Compared with clinical diagnosis, we determined the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the curve (AUC) of nanopore sequencing. Results: A total of 647 patients were evaluated. Nanopore sequencing demonstrated an overall sensitivity of 91.7%, specificity of 85.3%, PPV of 95.1%, NPV of 76.4%, and AUC of 0.88. Notably, the overall diagnostic accuracy of nanopore sequencing was significantly higher than that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) culture technique. Conclusion: Nanopore sequencing exhibited satisfactory overall diagnostic accuracy for smear-negative PTB, regardless of MTB culture status. Therefore, if conditions permit, nanopore sequencing is recommended as a diagnostic method for smear-negative PTB.

Background: Early lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB) diagnosis is still difficult. The majority of LN specimens require the undertaking of invasive and unpleasant procedures. Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of pathology when combined with molecular tests for the diagnosis of LNTB in core needle biopsy (CNB) specimens and to compare that diagnostic efficacy with that deriving from tissue specimens’ examination alone. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of LNTB patients who met the inclusion criteria. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the curve (AUC) of pathology, molecular tests, and parallel test (positive result for either of these two assays) were calculated to evaluate their diagnostic efficacy compared with a composite reference standard. Results: A total of 289 patients were included in the study. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC of pathology, molecular tests, and parallel test were 94.5%, 97.2%, 99.6%, 71.4%, 0.96; 73.1%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 34.6%, 0.87; and 98.4%, 97.2%, 99.6%, 89.7%, 0.98, respectively. For CNB specimens, these values for pathology, molecular tests, and parallel test were 93.3%, 96.2%, 99.4%, 69.4%, 0.95; 76.4%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 40.0%, 0.88; and 99.4%, 96.2%, 99.4%,96.2%,0.98, while those same values for the tissue were 96.6%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 76.9%, 0.98; 67.1%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 25.6%, 0.84; and 96.6%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 76.9%,0.98, respectively. Conclusion: The validity of pathology and molecular testing when using CNB specimens was similar to that of tissue specimens for relevant assessment approaches. For the LNTB diagnosis, CNB specimens were preferred for the simultaneous undertaking of pathological examination and molecular testing.

Introduction: The treatment for locally advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer is still challenging. Drug-eluting beads bronchial arterial chemoembolization (DEB-BACE) is a novel drug delivery and embolization system for lung cancer that has the potential to improve outcomes and reduce the incidence of adverse events (AEs). It is very rare to administer DEB-BACE as neoadjuvant therapy for lung cancer and achieve pathological complete response (pCR). Body: A 69-year-old male was hospitalized because of cough and hemoptysis caused by locally advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer. According to his choice, he received DEB-BACE treatment without obvious AEs. After the DEB-BACE treatment, the pulmonary lesion was controlled and lobectomy was performed. Postoperative pathology showed pCR. The patient has recovered well. Conclusion: This was the first case of DEB-BACE as a neoadjuvant therapy and achieved pCR for lung cancer. DEB-BACE might be a new neoadjuvant therapy option for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, especially for squamous cell cancer.

Background: Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is a severe extrapulmonary TB, which can lead to serious complications. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important for the prognosis and the diagnosis of abdominal TB is still difficult. Methods: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Wanfang database for studies evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of NAATs for abdominal TB until August 2020. Any types of study design with full text were sought and included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. Subgroup analysis, meta-regression analysis and sensitivity analysis were used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Stata version 15.0 with the midas command packages was used to carry out meta-analyses. Results: We included a total of 78 independent studies from 53 articles; 64 with CRS as the reference standard, and 14 with culture as the reference standard. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and the areas under summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves (AUC) were 58% (51%–64%; I² = 87%), 99% (97%–99%; I² = 81%), and 0.92 (0.89–0.94) compared with CRS, respectively. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and the AUC values of the SROC were 80% (66%–90%; I² = 56%), 96% (92%–98%; I² = 84%), and 0.97 (0.95–0.98) compared with culture, respectively. The heterogeneity of sensitivity and specificity was significant. Conclusions: NAATs had excellent efficacy in the diagnosis of abdominal TB regardless of the reference standard and regardless of the subtype of abdominal TB. Multiplex PCR with multiple target genes may improve diagnostic sensitivity, and stool specimens may also be used for the diagnosis of abdominal TB in addition to tissue and ascites.