Updated Guidelines for the Use of Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis

This report presents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) updated recommendations on the use of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAA) for TB diagnosis. These revised guidelines were developed on the basis of a report by a panel of clinicians, laboratorians, and TB control officials. The panel was convened by CDC and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and in consultation with the Advisory Council for the Elimination of TB (ACET). The report recommends that NAA testing be performed on at least one respiratory specimen from each patient with signs and symptoms of pulmonary TB for whom a diagnosis of TB is being considered but has not yet been established and for whom the test result would alter case management or TB control activities. A revised testing and interpretation algorithm is proposed.