Abstract
A magnetic bead protocol and a standard centrifugation protocol yielded Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 40/50 sputum specimens in 12 ± 1 days and 11 ± 2 days, respectively (P > 0.05 by Student's t test). Manipulation took 35 ± 5 min and 45 ± 10 min, respectively (P < 0.05). The magnetic bead protocol could advantageously replace centrifugation for culturing M. tuberculosis from sputum.