Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), is the leading cause of death by an infectious disease. It remains a serious public health problem over the globe. Tuberculosis is a significant global health challenge, with an estimated 10 million people becoming sick with the disease and 1.5 million deaths due to TB in 2020 (1). The global public health response for TB has been complicated by challenges to diagnose and link people to care. In 2019, an estimated 2.9 million people with TB were undiagnosed and unreported (2), and in 2020 this estimate increased to more than 4 million people undiagnosed and unreported for TB during the COVID-19 pandemic (1). This was a retrospective study conducted by Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Rajouri in collaboration with District Tuberculosis Centre, Rajouri, J&K. A total of 248 samples of the patients with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis and Extra pulmonary samples were collected and tested over a period of ten month. Out of the 248 samples tested, 9 (3.6%) were positive for MTB by Truenat. Early morning, deep coughed sputum and EPTB samples was considered for the study. males and females among the study population with 126 males (50.8%) and 122 females (49.2%). Maximum number of suspected EPTB patients was in the age group of 50-59 and 60-69 age category (42.3%). In contrast, the present study aimed to assess the rate of inconclusive Truenat results in real-world situations and to determine their root causes. This knowledge is needed in order to optimize the testing performance of Truenat MTB-RIF, to ensure timely diagnosis, and thereby to reduce the magnitude of undiagnosed TB cases.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), TrueNat, Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB), Extrapulmonary-tuberculosis (EPTB).