Annals of Clinical Microbiology, The official Journal of the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology
Original article

A Nationwide Multicenter Survey for Mycobacterial Testing in Korea

Sae Am Song1*, Si Hyun Kim1,6*, Chang-Ki Kim2, Heungsup Sung3, Sunjoo Kim4, Chulhun L Chang5, Jeong Hwan Shin1,6

1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Korean Institute of Tuberculosis, Osong, 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Asan Medical Center and University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, 4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, 5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, 6Paik Institute for Clinical Research, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea

Corresponding to Jeong Hwan Shin, E-mail: jhsmile@inje.ac.kr

Ann Clin Microbiol 2015;18(3):69-75. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2015.18.3.69
Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.

Abstract

Background: There have been steady changes and improvements in diagnostic tests for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, so it is necessary to carry out periodic surveys to understand the current situation. The aims of this study were to investigate the changes in principal practices and quality control for M. tuberculosis using a nationwide survey in the Republic of Korea.

Methods: We constructed a questionnaire composed of four subseries with 42 items. We e-mailed this survey to members of the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology from April to September 2014 and analyzed the replies.

Results: Employees at a total of 65 hospital laboratories and 5 commercial laboratories participated in the survey. AFB staining was reportedly performed in all 70 institutions, and fluorescent staining was used as the primary detection method in 59 (84.3%) laboratories. Solid and liquid culture methods for Mycobacterium were performed at 62 (88.6%) and 59 (84.3%) laboratories, respectively. There were 57 laboratories (90.5%) that identified strains growing on primary culture media using a rapid antigen kit or molecular method. The mean values of positive and contamination rates for solid culture media were 8.2% (range 3.7-19.9%) and 4.0% (0.4-8.4%), respectively. In liquid culture, the mean values of positive and contamination rates were 11.5% (4.8-22.3%) and 6.8% (0.3-18.7%), respectively.

Conclusion: There have been significant changes and improvements in overall mycobacterial testing, especially in the numbers of laboratories using fluorescent staining, liquid culture, and identification of M. tuberculosis cultured media compared with previous surveys in Korea. (Ann Clin Microbiol 2015;18:69-75)

Keywords

Korea, Survey, Tuberculosis