Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Feasibility, Accuracy, and Effect of Point-of-care Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra Testing in Patients Suspected of Having TB: a Randomised Controlled Trial
Brief Summary: TB is a global health problem and in South Africa rates as the second most important problem in terms of Burden of Disease. There are many reasons for this, among which are diagnostic difficulties, extended treatments, drug resistance and health care provision. This application is concerned with all these drivers and will focus activities on a clinic which provides basic care in a very deprived socio-economic area of greater Cape Town, South Africa.

Patients studied in routine, but demanding environments are our focus as these clinics are representative of many areas where TB (and HIV) are found at high prevalence. If the constraints of working in such areas can be understood and appropriate changes that work made, the investigators believe the outputs and policy changes generated in this study will contribute to future success in other settings.

The investigators wish to study the implementation of the Xpert®MTB/RIF (Xpert) and Xpert Ultra (Ultra) systems in situ using a randomised controlled trial design, as opposed to a remote site (central laboratory), to assess whether time to diagnosis can be improved using point of care (POC). The investigators wish to maximise this opportunity by collecting biological samples from a patient population experiencing a TB epidemic for the evaluation of future TB diagnostics.

Using human DNA, the investigators will attempt to determine reasons for poor or no treatment response. Two possibilities exist for this: a) the M. tuberculosis strain is resistant to the drug in question or b) the patient is highly susceptible to the bacterium. The investigators will determine the exome sequences of study participants with susceptible M. tuberculosis strains who show poor or no response, and compare this with rapid responders. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, the investigators will also observe how the microbiome of TB patients is altered during TB treatment and how this is associated with treatment outcome, as well as after TB treatment.

This project will set the foundation for the implementation of new POC TB diagnostic technologies in clinics in South Africa. The biobanked specimens collected can be rapidly utilised for nascent technologies. Studying the patient microbiome will provide insights into what makes some patients more susceptible to TB and what microbiological changes occur during the course of anti-TB treatment.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

laboratories -and not subjects - will be randomized. All laboratories will start doing smears, when indicated by randomization, they will switch to Xpert MTB/Rif. There are no inclusion or exclusion criteria for the labs. Sputum specimens from non-diagnostic (follow up) patients, second samples for diagnostic tests, insufficient volume/visible blood specimens will be excluded from the Xpert testing.
B: Inclusion criteria:

1. Any ventilated patients over 18 years of age with suspected TB (suggestive pulmonary infiltrates, a history of constitutional symptoms preceding the ICU admission, or patients known or suspected to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)).

Exclusion criteria:

1. Patients known to have active TB or to already be on antituberculous medication.
C: Inclusion Criteria:

All HIV-infected men and women \> 18 years of age with newly diagnosed HIV at the 12 study clinics will be asked to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients will be excluded from participation if they have a current diagnosis of TB and/or if they are currently taking IPT, TB treatment and/or ART.
* Patients will also be excluded from participation if they cannot speak English or Chichewa;
* if they have a language or hearing impairment; or
* if they are prisoners.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* The patient is willing to provide specimens (urine, blood, stool, respiratory tract specimens and swabs)
* The patient is clinically suspected of having TB (Two WHO TB symptoms for HIV negative patients and one WHO TB symptom if HIV positive)

Exclusion Criteria:

* The patient is under the age of 18 years old
* The patient declines consent
* The patient has too few clinical symptoms for TB

Answer: D