Public call for data on diagnostic accuracy of nucleic acid amplification tests to detect TB and DR-TB

18 June 2020, Geneva | Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) are promising technologies for the rapid and accurate detection of TB and resistance to selected anti-TB agents. In December 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) will convene a Guidelines Development Group (GDG) meeting to update its diagnostic guidelines on the use of NAATs to detect TB and resistance to selected anti-TB agents. Ahead of this meeting, WHO will commission reviews of relevant evidence on diagnostic accuracy for several NAAT assays.

The following NAAT assays or classes of NAAT assays will be discussed by the GDG:

• Centralized assays that present end-to-end solutions for detection of TB and resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid (cDST: Index test 1);
• Cartridge-based technology for isoniazid and second-line drug resistance detection (XDR cartridge: Index test 2);
• Hybridization-based technology for pyrazinamide resistance detection (PZA LPA: Index test 3).

To enable this process, WHO is issuing a public call for data, appealing to industry, researchers, national TB programmes and other agencies to provide suitable evidence for the performance of these technologies. The obtained data will be essential to facilitate the process of WHO policy updates.
 
Please send relevant data by 1st August 2020, to [email protected]. For more information on the parameters of the datasets, variables, and the process see here.

Source: WHO