Abstract: Objective: To explore the clinical value of Xpert MTB/RIF technology in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and the
detection of rifampicin resistance. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 302 patients with suspected
pulmonary tuberculosis. The specimens were tested using acid-fast staining smear, liquid culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF. The diagnostic
efficacy of the three methods was compared, and the accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF in detecting rifampicin resistance was evaluated
against proportional drug susceptibility testing (DST) as the gold standard. Results: Among the specimens of 150 confirmed pulmonary
tuberculosis patients, the positive rates were 7.3% (11/150) for acid-fast staining, 54.7% (82/150) for liquid culture, and 98.0% (147/
150) for Xpert MTB/RIF. The positive rate of Xpert MTB/RIF was significantly higher than those of the other two methods (P<0.001).
Among the 150 confirmed cases, the rifampicin resistance rates detected by Xpert MTB/RIF and proportional DST were 12.0% (18/
150) and 12.7% (19/150), respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.836). Using proportional DST as the
gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of Xpert MTB/RIF for detecting rifampicin resistance were 84.2% (16/19) and 98.5% (129/
131), respectively. The two methods showed high consistency (Kappa=0.846, 95%CI: 0.732-0.960, P<0.001). Conclusion: Xpert MTB/
RIF can rapidly and accurately detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its rifampicin resistance, demonstrating significant clinical appli⁃
cation value. It can serve as an important tool for the diagnosis and resistance screening of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Key words: Xpert MTB/RIF, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, drug resistance, rifampicin