Diagnostic Methods for Tuberculosis: Clinical Applicability and Integrated Testing Workflows

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of death from a single infectious agent worldwide, particularly aggravated by HIV co-infection and the increasing burden of drug-resistant strains. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current la-boratory diagnostic methods for active and latent TB, emphasizing their clinical applica-bility across different healthcare settings, diagnostic performance, and implementation in integrated testing workflows. Conventional methods, such as smear microscopy and cul-ture, are discussed alongside modern diagnostic approaches, including automated nucle-ic acid amplification tests (NAATs), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), line probe assays (LPA), next-generation sequencing (NGS), and lateral flow assays for the di-agnosis of TB in specific clinical contexts. The strengths and limitations of each method are critically evaluated according to infrastructure level, resource availability, and epide-miological scenario. While traditional techniques remain useful in selected settings, mo-lecular technologies provide higher sensitivity, shorter turnaround times, and expanded capacity for drug resistance detection. The integration of complementary diagnostic strat-egies into hybrid testing algorithms is essential to optimize resource use, ensure diagnos-tic accuracy, promote equitable access, and enable early treatment initiation, thereby sup-porting effective TB control.