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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2026; 32(14): 116088
Published online Apr 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i14.116088
Published online Apr 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i14.116088
Xpert Ultra and TrueNat MTB plus assays for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tuberculosis: A diagnostic accuracy study
Kusum Sharma, Megha Sharma, Department of Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India
Neha Jindal, Harshal S Mandavdhare, Usha Dutta, Vishal Sharma, Department of Gastroentero
Pankaj Gupta, Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India
Aravind Sekar, Department of Histopathology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India
Author contributions: Sharma K and Sharma V contributed to study design and conceptualization; Sharma K, Jindal N, and Sharma V participated in data collection and analysis, Sharma K, Sharma M, and Gupta P performed the laboratory work and interpretation; Jindal N, Mandavdhare HS, Dutta U, and Sharma V participated in patient recruitment and follow-up; Jindal N, Sharma K, and Sharma V wrote the initial draft; Sharma M, Mandavdhare HS, Gupta P, and Dutta U edited the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, No. PGI/IEC/2021/000646.
Informed consent statement: All participants provided written informed consent before inclusion in this study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Data associated with this manuscript are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Vishal Sharma, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Sector 12, Chandigarh 160012, India. sharma.vishal@pgimer.edu.in
Received: November 2, 2025
Revised: December 30, 2025
Accepted: February 2, 2026
Published online: April 14, 2026
Processing time: 152 Days and 14.6 Hours
Revised: December 30, 2025
Accepted: February 2, 2026
Published online: April 14, 2026
Processing time: 152 Days and 14.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study compared Xpert Ultra and TrueNat plus assays for diagnosing gastrointestinal tuberculosis against a composite reference standard. Of 38 patients, 26 had gastrointestinal tuberculosis. Xpert Ultra showed higher sensitivity and specificity than TrueNat plus in intestinal tissue samples. The improved sensitivity of these tests compared with standard tests comes at the cost of reduced specificity.