Evaluating the utility of menstrual blood versus endometrial biopsy as a clinical sample in the diagnosis of female genital tuberculosis

Abstract

Objective: Nonspecific clinical presentation, inefficacy of laboratory diagnostic tests, and inaccessibility of reproductive
clinics have resulted in underreporting of female genital tuberculosis which is an important cause of female infertility,
especially in developing country like India. The objective of the present study was to compare the utility of menstrual blood
with endometrial biopsy as a sample for the bacteriological diagnosis female genital tuberculosis.
Methods: All endometrial biopsy and menstrual blood specimens received in the Mycobacteriology Lab from clinically
suspected cases of genital tuberculosis were screened for acid fast bacilli by Zeehl Neelsen staining and were subjected to
culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis on Lowenstein Jensen medium.
Results: The incidence of genital TB either by microscopy or culture in menstrual blood samples and endometrial biopsy
samples in our study was found to be 5/125 (4 %) and 24/1226 (~2%). The correlation between microscopy and culture was
found to be 98.04 % and 85.71 % for endometrial biopsy and menstrual blood samples respectively.
Conclusion: More elaborate studies on larger samples size should be taken up to assess the utility of menstrual blood as a
potential alternative clinical sample for diagnosis of genital TB.