COMPARISON OF THE SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF THE ZIEHL-NEELSEN METHOD WITH THE MOLECULAR RAPID TEST METHOD IN THE EXAMINATION OF BTA IN THE SPUTUM OF PATIENTS SUSPECTED OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

Pulmonary tuberculosis or pulmonary TB is a disease that is easily
transmitted through the air from the source of transmission, namely BTA positive
TB patients when coughing or sneezing, patients spread germs into the air in the
form of sputum splashes. For this reason, an examination method that has high
sensitivity and specificity is needed as a tool for early detection of Pulmonary TB.
Research Objective: To study the comparison of the sensitivity and specificity of
the Ziehl-neelsen method and the Molecular Rapid Test method in examining BTA
in the sputum of TB suspected patients at the Puskesmas against the gold standard
using BTA culture.
This study is an analytic observational study with a cross sectional design.
The population in this study were all patients suspected of having Pulmonary TB
who came to the Kupang Health Center, Jetis Health Center, and Gedeg Health
Center who performed microscopic and culture examinations in the laboratory
during 2023. Sample selection used simple random sampling method with a sample
size of 60 patients. The hypothesis was proven using the Kappa test.
Results: the sensitivity and specificity of the Ziehl-Neelsen method BTA
examination were 60% and 100%, while the sensitivity and specificity of the
Molecular Rapid Test method examination were 100% and 100%. The results of
the Cohen's Kappa test showed that between the Ziehl-Neelsen and Molecular
Rapid Test methods both had high sensitivity and specificity (Kappa; 0.733).
Conclusions and advice: Based on the results of the study, the molecular
rapid test method has a higher sensitivity than the Ziehl-Neelsen method. This
method can be recommended for early detection of pulmonary TB