Direct drug susceptibility test for tubercle bacilli by the sputum swab culture method.

This study has indicated the usefulness of the swab method for testing the drug susceptibility of tubercle bacilli. As this method is simple and easy, and does not even require a centrifuge, it has the potential of application even in the remote parts of the world. The material used, Cetavlon (Cetrimide), is inexpensive and easily water soluble, and more importantly, aqueous solutions are self-sterilizing. It should be stressed, however, that the results obtained with this test take the same time as conventional methods, and it can therefore not be considered as a rapid test.