Comparison of Light Emitting Diode Fluorescent and Ziehl-Neelsen Staining Techniques with Culture for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

The objective of this study is to assess the validity of light emitting diode fluorescent and Ziehl-Neelsen staining techniques compared to the culture method for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). All 272 clinical sputum specimens were collected from suspected pulmonary TB patients and were conducted by 2 staining methods and TB culture. The validity and agreement of both staining techniques compared with the culture were calculated and analyzed using Cohen’s kappa statistics. The study revealed that the fluorescent staining technique had validity and agreement higher than Ziehl-Neelsen staining techniques. Additionally, the combination of both staining techniques can slightly increase the validity and agreement of the tests. Therefore, both fluorescent and Ziehl-Neelsen staining techniques remained the routine use of pulmonary TB diagnosis.