Optimisation study.

Bar graphs comparing the quantitative sensitivity of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) microscopy protocols A-G: (A) to identify acid-fast bacilli (AFB), shown as the difference in logarithmic base 10 counts between FDA bacilli/ml of sample versus AFB/ml in acid-fast (auramine) (B) to identify colony-forming units (CFU), shown as the difference in logarithmic base 10 counts between FDA bacilli/ml of sample versus CFU/ml in quantitative culture. Error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals.