Fast
T-SPOT.TB test results are available the next day. Other tests may take days or weeks.
Efficient
Unlike the tuberculin skin test (TST or PPD) , T-SPOT.TB does not require a follow up visit to the doctor's office.
Extremely Sensitive
Sensitivity refers to how well a test detects the disease. With a sensitivity of 96.0%, T-SPOT.TB is the most sensitive TB test currently available*.
Extremely Specific
Specificity is the ability of a test to identify uninfected people. Although there can be no gold standard for specificity, the specificity of T-SPOT.TB has been estimated to be 99.0%*.
Some TB tests may be less accurate in people with weakened immune systems or previous BCG vaccinations. The T-SPOT.TB test, however, is not affected by these factors. Therefore, even people in these groups will have highly reliable results when tested with T-SPOT.TB.*
Test accuracy will also depend on how a test can differentiate TB apart from other types of infections. Due to the use of the ESAT-6 and CFP10 antigens T-SPOT.TB is excellent at distinguishing between TB and the most common non-tuberculosis bacteria.
*. T-SPOT.TB Pivotal Clinical Trial Results. Sensitivity of 96.0% and 99.0% specificity after exclusion of borderline results. The study demonstrated no association between the T-SPOT.TB results and immunocompromised status or BCG vaccination. T-SPOT.TB US Pivotal Clinical Study, PI-TB-US-V1
