Preservation of sputum samples with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) for tuberculosis cultures and Xpert MTB/RIF in a low-income country

Background: Culture contamination with environmental bacteria is a major challenge in tuberculosis (TB) laboratories in hot and humid climate zones. We studied the effect of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) preservation on culture results and performance of Xpert MTB/RIF.

Methods: Consecutive sputum samples from microscopy smear-positive TB patients were collected. Two-hundred samples were equally split in two aliquots, one aliquot was treated with CPC and stored at ambient temperature for 7 days. The second aliquot was immediately processed. Samples were decontaminated for 20, 15 or 10 min, and subsequently cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen medium. Furthermore, 50 samples were stored for 7, 14 and 21 days, and 100 CPC-pretreated samples tested by Xpert MTB/RIF.

Results: CPC pretreated samples showed a higher culture yield compared to non-treated sputum samples across all decontamination times: 94% vs. 73% at 10 min (p = 0.01), 94% vs. 64% at 15 min (p = 0.004), and 90% vs. 52% at 20 min (p < 0.001). The quantitative culture grading was consistently higher in CPC treated compared to non-CPC treated samples. The proportion of contaminated cultures was lower in CPC pretreated samples across all decontamination times (range 2-6%) compared to non-CPC treated samples (15-16%). For storage times of CPC treated samples of 7, 14, and 21 days, 84, 86, and 84% of the respective cultures were positive. Of 91 CPC treated samples with a positive culture, 90 were also Xpert MTB/RIF positive.

Conclusions: CPC increases culture yield, decreases the proportion of contamination, and does not alter the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF.