What is the most reliable solid culture medium for tuberculosis treatment trials?

We conducted a prospective study to determine which solid medium is the most reliable overall and after two months of therapy to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB). MTB isolation and contamination rates on LJ and Middlebrook 7H10 and 7H11 agar with and without selective antibiotics were examined in a single laboratory and compared against a constructed reference standard and MGIT 960 results. Of 50 smear positive adults with pulmonary TB enrolled, 45 successfully completed standard treatment. Two spot sputum specimens were collected before treatment and at week 8 and one spot specimen each at weeks 2, 4, 6, and 12. The MTB recovery rate among all solid media for pre-treatment specimens was similar. After 8 weeks, selective (S) 7H11 had the highest positivity rate. Latent class analysis was used to construct the primary reference standard. The 98.7% sensitivity of 7H11S (95% Wilson confidence interval 96.4%-99.6%) was highest among the 5 solid media (P = 0.003 by bootstrap); the 82.6% specificity of 7H10S (95% CI 75.7%-87.8%) was highest (P = 0.098). Our results support 7H11S as the medium of choice. Further studies in different areas where recovery and contamination are likely to vary, are recommended.