RADHAKRISHNAN, VVMATHAI, A2012-12-042012-12-041991JOURNAL OF APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY. 71; 5; 428-433http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.1991.tb03812.xhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1761436https://dspace.sctimst.ac.in/handle/123456789/17In an attempt to establish an alternative to standard bacteriological methods in the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM), a simple dot-immunobinding assay (Dot-Iba) was standardized to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen 5 and antimycobacterial antibody in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens of patients with TBM. Sensitivity and specificity of Dot-Iba was compared with conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and standard bacteriological techniques. The Dot-Iba showed excellent correlation with indirect ELISA for the detection of antimycobacterial antibody in CSF and showed 60% sensitivity and 100% specificity in culture-negative patients with TBM. However Dot-Iba was less sensitive for the detection of antigen 5 in CSFs and showed false negative results (60%) in culture-positive patients with TBM.Laboratory Diagnosis