Latent tuberculosis testing: What laboratorians need to know

Description

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) affects nearly one-quarter of the global population and represents a critical reservoir for active TB, the leading infectious cause of death globally. LTBI is asymptomatic but can progress to active TB, causing morbidity, mortality, and fueling ongoing transmission. Efficient and accurate LTBI diagnostic and management strategies are fundamental to achieving TB elimination. However, healthcare providers and laboratory professionals encounter significant challenges in LTBI testing, from identifying appropriate patients for testing and selecting optimal diagnostic methods, to accurately interpreting results and implementing effective interventions.

Join Dr. Elizabeth Talbot as she presents evidence-based guidance on TB testing algorithms, including strengths and limitations of LTBI testing methods, along with strategies for identifying and prioritizing high-risk patient populations to optimize TB prevention programs.

Target audience

This activity is designed for physicians, lab supervisors, lab directors (and/or assistant directors), lab managers (supervisory and/or non-supervisory), and medical technologists.

Learning objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate key features of the global TB epidemic and the public health and clinical impact of LTBI testing.
• Compare the diagnostic performance of the tuberculin skin test (TST) and Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) test methods.
• Recognize high-risk populations and pre-analytical variables affecting test accuracy.

Faculty

Elizabeth Talbot, MD
Professor of Medicine
Infectious Diseases and International Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth
Section Chief, Infectious Diseases and International Health
Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth
Deputy State Epidemiologist
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Lebanon, New Hampshire

Disclosures and statement of independence

The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) is dedicated to ensuring balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all educational activities. All participating planning committee members and faculty are required to disclose to the program audience any financial relationships related to the subject matter of this program. Disclosure information is reviewed in advance in order to manage and resolve any possible conflicts of interest. The intent of this disclosure is to provide participants with information on which they can make their own judgments.

The following faculty reported financial relationships:

• Elizabeth Talbot, MD
  • Honorarium: Euroimmun
  • Commitee/Advisory Board: MannKind

Content validity

All recommendations involving clinical medicine are based on evidence accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients; AND/OR all scientific research referred to or reported in support or justification of a patient care recommendation conforms to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

Accreditation statement

This activity will be submitted for 1.0 ACCENT continuing education credit.

Successful completion statement

Verification of Participation certificates are provided to registered participants based on completion of the activity, in its entirety, and the activity evaluation. For questions regarding continuing education, please email [email protected].