A patient presents with cough. You suspect the patient has pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and is at high risk for drug-resistant TB. According to the recently published CHEST guideline “Managing Chronic Cough as a Symptom in Children and Management Algorithms,” which of the following steps should you consider for this patient if the XpertMTB/RIF assay is available?
Better luck next time
“The [Xpert MTB/RIF assay] test simultaneously detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and resistance to rifampin in less than 2 hours. In comparison, standard cultures can take 2 to 6 weeks for MTBC to grow, and conventional drug resistance tests can add 3 more weeks,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Nice job!