{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,15]],"date-time":"2026-01-15T22:33:40Z","timestamp":1768516420198,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["int j tuberc lung dis"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,1]]},"abstract":"<sec id=\"st1\"><title>BACKGROUND<\/title>Key challenges in paediatric TB diagnosis are invasive sampling and poor sensitivity of standard methods. This study demonstrates the diagnostic potential of non-invasive sampling of bioaerosols from children using SMaRT-PCR,\n comprising mask sampling combined with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for TB.<\/sec><sec id=\"st2\"><title>METHODS<\/title>Exhaled bioaerosols were captured on modified N-95 masks in a 10-min talk-cough-breathe process from 51 children\n (30 with TB confirmed using standard sampling methods and 21 without TB) aged 2\u201315 years. All mask samples were tested using in-house RT-PCR for 16s<\/jats:italic> and rpo<\/jats:italic>B RNA transcripts. Additional mask samples from children with TB were tested using Xpert\u00ae<\/jats:sup> MTB\/RIF (n<\/jats:italic>\n = 3) and Xpert\u00ae<\/jats:sup> MTB\/RIF Ultra (n<\/jats:italic> = 27).<\/sec><sec id=\"st3\"><title>RESULTS<\/title>SMaRT-PCR sensitivity for detecting TB among treatment-na\u00efve children was 96% if 16s<\/jats:italic> or rpo<\/jats:italic>B was present, and 75% if both genes were present,\n comparable to standard methods (71%) in the same cohort. Specificity was better for both genes, at 95%, than 85% for a single gene detection. Mask sampling with Xpert MTB\/RIF or Ultra had a sensitivity of only 13%.<\/sec><sec id=\"st4\"><title>CONCLUSION<\/title>This\n is the first study to provide evidence for testing bioaerosols as a promising alternative for detecting paediatric TB. Sampling is non-invasive and simple, with the potential for point-of-care applications. This pilot study also suggests that RNA transcript-based detection may improve TB diagnostic\n sensitivity in children; however, further investigation is required to establish its adaptability in clinical settings.<\/sec><\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5588\/ijtld.23.0291","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,2]],"date-time":"2024-04-02T13:43:22Z","timestamp":1712065402000},"page":"189-194","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["SMaRT-PCR: sampling using masks and RT-PCR, a non-invasive diagnostic tool for paediatric pulmonary TB"],"prefix":"10.5588","volume":"28","author":[{"given":"A.","family":"Shaikh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"K.","family":"Sriraman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Vaswani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"I.","family":"Shah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Paediatric TB Clinic, State Centre of Excellence for Paediatric DR-TB, Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, B.J. Wadia Hospital for Children, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"V.","family":"Poojari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Paediatric TB Clinic, State Centre of Excellence for Paediatric DR-TB, Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, B.J. Wadia Hospital for Children, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"V.","family":"Oswal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vikas Nursing Home, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Mane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Centre of Excellence for Tuberculosis, Grant Medical College, Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Rajagara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Centre of Excellence for Tuberculosis, Grant Medical College, Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"N.","family":"Mistry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"3554","container-title":["The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ingentaconnect.com\/content\/iuatld\/ijtld\/2024\/00000028\/00000004\/art00004","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,2]],"date-time":"2024-04-02T13:43:27Z","timestamp":1712065407000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ingentaconnect.com\/content\/10.5588\/ijtld.23.0291"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,1]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,1]]}},"alternative-id":["1027-3719(20240401)28:4L.189;1-"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5588\/ijtld.23.0291","relation":{},"ISSN":["1027-3719"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1027-3719","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,1]]}}}