Tuberculosis: Clinical Laboratory Diagnostic Techniques and Future Perspectives.

Tuberculosis is a severe infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection and poses a serious public health challenge globally. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant MTB in countries with a high burden of tuberculosis has further increased the challenges of tuberculosis prevention and control. The rapid and accurate diagnosis of MTB and multidrug-resistant MTB serves as the prerequisite and key to controlling tuberculosis transmission and prevalence. However, the insufficient laboratory diagnosis capacity of tuberculosis seriously constrains the detection of tuberculosis cases, leading to delayed treatment and interpersonal transmission. Although multiple laboratory diagnostic techniques for tuberculosis have emerged, their diagnostic efficacy varies significantly. This review conducts a detailed analysis of the principles, characteristics, and clinical applications of various laboratory diagnostic techniques across three major categories: bacteriological morphology, molecular biology, and immunology. It elucidates the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and explores future development directions for tuberculosis laboratory diagnostics, aiming to provide valuable methodological references for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.