Can medical laboratories give humanity the edge over tuberculosis?

By Parth Patel, DMSc, PA-C and Valerie Hazley-Anyiwo, RN, BSN, CICBP 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this article, the reader will be able to:

  1. Discuss healthcare statistics and the causative agent ofTuberculosis (TB).
  2. Describe the differences in documented TB infections.
  3. Describe detection methods and types of assays for TB andtheir benefits and limitations.
  4. Discuss the current recommended protocols for the identification and diagnosis of TB.

About the Authors

Parth Patel, DMSc, PA-C is a board-certified Physician Associate with a terminal degree of Doctor of Medical Science. He is a Medical Science Liaison supporting the Immune Response in North America for QIAGEN including, QuantiFERON-Gold TB Plus. Prior to joining QIAGEN, he specialized in the field of medical dermatology and routinely screened patients for LTBI prior to initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. 

Valerie Hazley-Anyiwo, RN, BSN, CICBP is a Clinical Scientist Consultant and Nurse Educator at QIAGEN. She has over 40 years of consulting, health care management, and clinical experience, including 28 years as a flight nurse and Medical Readiness Officer for the United States Air Force Reserves where her duties included TB screening for 3,500 reserve personnel. 

Photo credit: Photo 83419884 © Zerbor | Dreamstime.com

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Course Includes

  • 1 Article
  • 1 Test
  • Course Certificate
  • MLO and Northern Illinois University (NIU), DeKalb, IL, are co-sponsors in offering continuing education units (CEUs) for this issue’s CE article. CEUs or contact hours are granted by the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University, which has been approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® program. Continuing education credits awarded for successful completion of this test are acceptable for the ASCP Board of Registry Continuing Competence Recognition Program. Readers who pass the test successfully (scoring 70% or higher) will receive a certificate for 1 contact hour of P.A.C.E.® credit. The fee for this continuing education test is $20. This test was prepared by Amanda Voelker, MPH, MT(ASCP), MLS, Clinical Education Coordinator, School of Health Studies, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL.

    Level of Instruction: Intermediate
    Passing scores of 70 percent or higher are eligible for 1 contact hour of P.A.C.E. credit. This test is no longer valid for CEUs after October 31, 2024.

    NIU is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E. ® Program.