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Article: Blood test vs. skin test: Are hospitals ready for the TB 'gold standard'?
- Article from:
- Hospital Employee Health
- Article date:
- February 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 A Thomson Healthcare Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Blood test vs. skin test: Are hospitals ready for the TB 'gold standard'?
Hospitals consider secondary use of Quantiferon
After years of frustration with tuberculin skin tests, hospitals have a chance to revolutionize their TB screening with a new blood test. But even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines for its use, few seem poised to take that step.
For the foreseeable future, the tuberculin skin test remains the predominant screening method. Because of cost and other concerns, many hospitals view Quantiferon-TB Gold as just an extra tool to be used on a selective basis.
That stance puzzles public ...