Dried culture spots for Xpert MTB/RIF external quality assessment: results of a phase 1 pilot study in South Africa.

Implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF requires quality assessment. A pilot program using dried culture spots (DCSs) of inactivated Mycobacterium tuberculosis is described. Of 274 DCS results received, 2.19% generated errors; the remainder yielded 100% correct Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection. The probe A cycle threshold (CT) variability of three DCS batches was ≤3.47. The study of longer-term DCS stability is ongoing.