Efficacy of a chemiluminescence-based urinary LAM (AIMLAM) assay in the diagnosis of active TB in Chinese children

This study of a large-sample cohort of children in China assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the AIMLAM test kit as an auxiliary tool for childhood TB, and to determine an age-specific reference interval for LAM concentrations in children. Our findings showed that the overall sensitivity of AIMLAM was moderate, whereas a higher sensitivity was observed in patients with bacteriologically confirmed and severe TB. Age-specific cutoff values may be needed to optimize the diagnostic model in children. These results provide preliminary evidence for a method of diagnosing ATB in pediatric patients with samples that are difficult to obtain.