Accessibility
Accessibility
Woman sitting at desk

Women's Health Testing

Tuberculosis Screening

Labcorp offers the fourth generation in QuantiFERON® - TB testing technology. This single blood specimen collection is recommended by the CDC for use in certain situations in which a tuberculin skin test (TST) is appropriate.1

supporting image

QuantiFERON® - TB testing technology

  • QFT has been shown to be more accurate than the TST in identifying people who may have latent tuberculosis (TB) infection2
  • QFT has been shown to be more reliable than the TST in identifying those who may progress to active TB.3 QFT-Plus is >97% specific,4 nearly eliminating false-positive readings; and false positive rates for TST have been published as low as 3% in non-BCG vaccinated populations5 and as high as 65% when using a 10-mm induration as the cutoff in BCG-vaccinated populations6
  • QFT-Plus offers >94% sensitivity, decreasing false negatives4

Informational Brochure

ACOG Guidelines recommend7 screening for:

  • Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection
  • Close contact with individuals known or suspected to have tuberculosis
  • Medical risk factors known to increase risk of disease if infected
  • Born in country with high tuberculosis prevalence
  • Babies, young children, and elderly
  • Medically underserved; low income
  • Alcoholism; intravenous drug use
  • Residents of long-term care facility (e.g. correctional institutions, mental institutions, nursing homes and facilities)
  • Health professionals who serve clients at high-risk health care facilities
  • Recent tuberculin skin test converter (individuals with baseline testing results who have an increase of 10 mm or more in the size of the tuberculin skin test reaction within a 2-year period)
  • Radiographic evidence of prior healed tuberculosis

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. MMWR. 2010;59(No. RR-5):2-3
  2. Diel R, Loddenkemper R, Niemann S, Meywald-Walter K, Nienhaus A. Predictive value of a whole blood IFN-assay for the development of active tuberculosis disease after recent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2008;177:1164-1170
  3. Diel R, Loddenkemper R, Niemann S, Meywald-Walter K, Nienhaus A. A negative and positive predictive value of a wholeblood interferon-y-release assay for developing active tuberculosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011;183:88-95.
  4. QuantiFERONR-TB Gold Plus (QFTR-Plus) Package Insert. Germantown, MD: Qiagen; 2017
  5. Pai M, Zwerling A, Menzies D. Systematic review: T-cell-based assays for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection: An update. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149(3):177-184
  6. Mori T, Sakatani M, Yamgaishi F, et al. Specific detection of tuberculosis infection. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004;170:59-64
  7. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Well Women Recommendations. High-Risk Factors. Available at: https://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/ACOG-Departments/Annual-Womens-Health-Ca...