Performance of the MeltPro TB assay as initial test for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis with drug-resistance detection

Background The MeltPro TB assay (MeltPro) is a molecular rapid diagnostic test designed for detecting resistance to antituberculosis drugs. However, the performance of MeltPro as an initial diagnostic test for simultaneously detecting the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and drug resistance has not been evaluated. This study aims to assess the performance of MeltPro as initial diagnostic test for simultaneous detection of MTB and drug resistance in clinical samples from patients with presumptive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 1283 patients with presumptive PTB from two clinical centers, out of which 875 were diagnosed with PTB. The diagnostic accuracy of MeltPro, Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert), and MGIT 960 for PTB detection was evaluated. Rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH), ethambutol (EMB), streptomycin (STR), and fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance were detected using MeltPro, with Xpert and/or the broth microdilution plate method (MYCOTB) results as references.Results For the diagnosis of PTB, MeltPro showed a sensitivity of 69.0%, which was similar to Xpert (72.7%; P > 0.05) and higher than MGIT (58.1%; P < 0.001). The specificity of MeltPro was 97.1%, similar to Xpert (98.0%; P > 0.05). In smear-negative patients, MeltPro's sensitivity was 50.9%, similar to Xpert (56.5%; P > 0.05), and higher than MGIT (33.1%; P < 0.001). Based on Xpert and/or MYCOTB results, MeltPro exhibited a sensitivity and specificity of 98.3% and 99.2%, respectively, for detecting RIF resistance. Based on MYCOTB results, MeltPro's sensitivity for detecting resistance to INH, EMB, STR, and FQ was 96.4%, 89.1%, 97.5%, and 90.3%, respectively, with specificities of 96.0%, 96.0%, 95.2%, and 99.4%, respectively.Conclusion The MeltPro TB assay could potentially be an effective alternative as the initial test for rapid diagnosis of PTB with drug-resistance detection in clinical practice.