Comparamos o teste de nitrato redutase com o método de proporções, considerado como padrão ouro, em 57 cepas de Mycobacterium tuberculosis isoladas de pacientes atendidos no Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, em Belo Horizonte (MG). A sensibilidade, a especificidade e a acurácia para rifampicina e isoniazida foram de 100% para todas, enquanto essas foram, respectivamente, de 88,9%, 66,7% e 96,5% para estreptomicina e de 98,0%, 100% e 98,2% para etambutol. A média de tempo para a obtenção dos resultados foi de dez dias. Na amostra estudada, o teste de nitrato redutase mostrou grande acurácia e excelente concordância com o padrão ouro.
We compared the nitrate reductase assay with the proportion method, which is considered the gold standard, in 57 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from patients treated at the Federal University of Minas Gerais Hospital das Clínicas, located in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. For rifampin and isoniazid, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the nitrate reductase assay were all 100%, whereas they were 100%, 88.9%, and 66.7%, respectively, for streptomycin and 98.0%, 100%, and 98.2%, respectively, for ethambutol. The mean time to results was ten days. In the study sample, the nitrate reductase assay proved highly accurate and showed excellent concordance with the gold standard.