Screening matters

Every TB test result is a ‘moment of truth’. If it’s positive, then you’ve begun the process of fighting it. You can protect the patient and the wider community from a deadly risk. If it’s negative, there may be no need for powerful antibiotics – and the patient is cleared to live and work closely with others. With so much at stake, positive or negative, what’s vital is getting a result people can trust.


Between the people and TB, there’s you

Whether you are a primary care physician, rheumatologist or other specialist, physicians face the challenge of finding a tuberculosis (TB) test that is reliable in all patients, even those with weakened immune systems – the immunosuppressed. In fact, many adults have been told that they are immunosuppressed,1 which can result in an inaccurate TB result.2 That is why you need a TB test that is accurate across patient populations.

1 small tube.
1 million ways to find the truth.2

If you are running a laboratory, offering a TB test that is reliable and accurate is paramount. You’re called on to provide tuberculosis (TB) testing for all patients, without the benefit of knowledge regarding disease state or immune status. The T-SPOT.TB test is a T cell based interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA), designed to enable accurate results across patient populations, even in patients with a weakened immune status. With the T-SPOT.TB test a blood specimen is collected using routine phlebotomy and a standard blood collection tube, this is then transported at room temperature to the laboratory. The T-SPOT.TB test separates T cells from whole blood and standardises the number of these cells in each patient test well. The T-SPOT.TB test also washes the cells to remove potentially interfering substances that can affect test results.2 This test design mitigates the risk of false or indeterminate results.

It is also now possible to automate the T-SPOT.TB test using the CE-marked
T-Cell Select reagent kit. giving you more streamlined workflows and freeing up your technicians’ time. With the T-Cell Select reagent kit, samples for the T-SPOT.TB test can now be processed up to 54 hours after collection. That’s over 2 full days from venepuncture until the sample needs to be processed in the laboratory.

Between the people and TB, there’s you

TB is highly contagious. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that tuberculosis (TB) is spread from person to person through the air. When people with TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected. That is why accurate, early diagnosis is so crucial. People with active TB can infect 5-15 people through close contact over the course of a year.1 In other words, a person with undiagnosed active TB can rapidly create a public health crisis without even knowing it.

The T-SPOT.TB test is the only TB test with sensitivity and specificity above 98%2. This keeps the number of false positive and negative results to a minimum, helping you ensure therapy is correctly targeted.

The T-SPOT.TB test is an IGRA, and therefore recommended by NICE for use in incident situations where large numbers of people may need to be screened. Testing large numbers of people is clearly a challenge and Oxford Diagnostic Laboratories based in Oxford, UK aim to work with you to make this achievable.

The T-SPOT.TB test advantages

  1. Accurate across patient populations 4

  2. Only TB test with sensitivity and specificity > 98%2

    • Sensitivity: 98.8%
    • Specificity: >99.1%
  3. High test accuracy around result cut-off due to regulatory approved borderline zone – helping to prevent inappropriate therapy2,5

Learn more about the
T-SPOT.TB test

Contact us