CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND EVALUATION OF THE DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS IN UROGENITAL TUBERCULOSIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Keywords:
Urogenital Tuberculosis, Molecular Diagnostics, GeneXpert, Diagnostic Accuracy, Clinical CharacteristicsAbstract
Background: Urogenital tuberculosis (UGTB) represents a principal clinical manifestation of extrapulmonary TB. Diagnosis is frequently delayed due to nonspecific clinical symptoms and limited sensitivity of conventional diagnostic methods.
Methods: This systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines, conducting a comprehensive literature search across PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases. The evaluation focused on patient clinical characteristics and the diagnostic accuracy of GeneXpert (MTB/RIF and Ultra) on urogenital specimens.
Results: The most predominant clinical manifestations of UGTB include flank pain, irritative lower urinary tract symptoms, and sterile pyuria. Molecular tests such as GeneXpert MTB/RIF provide significantly faster results compared to culture (2 hours versus 6–8 weeks). This method demonstrates very high specificity (>90%), although sensitivity varies. The use of GeneXpert Ultra significantly improves detection sensitivity in urine samples with low bacterial burden (paucibacillary).
Conclusion: Integration of accurate clinical findings with current molecular diagnostic technology is critically important. This approach supports early detection to prevent permanent organ damage such as contracted bladder or chronic renal failure.
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