CDC updates TB test guidelines
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
For the first time since 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidelines for the use of nucleic acid amplification tests to diagnose tuberculosis. CDC now recommends using NAA tests for patients with symptoms of pulmonary TB "for whom a diagnosis is being considered but not yet established." According to CDC, NAA tests can confirm pulmonary TB weeks earlier than the conventional test, leading to improved patient outcomes and increased opportunities to interrupt transmission