Effective June 10, 2024, Clinical Pathology Laboratories (CPL) will be implementing single tube collection for
QuantiFERON® TB Gold Plus testing (Order Code 7580). The new preferred specimen type will be whole blood collected in a BD 6mL lithium heparin green-top tube, which may be ordered through CPL Supplies.
QuantiFERON® TB Gold Plus specimens collected in the four individual tubes will continue to be an acceptable specimen type. Prepared four tube kits, currently ordered through CPL Supplies, will no longer be available after June 28, 2024.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease, transmitted almost exclusively by cough aerosols carrying pathogens of the M. tuberculosis complex. TB continues to be a major public health threat, causing an estimated 10.4 million new cases and 1.3 million deaths from TB in 2016.1 Pathogenesis is characterized by a period of asymptomatic subclinical infection, defined broadly as latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), which might last for weeks or decades.1
QuantiFERON® TB Gold Plus Collection Tubes:
| QuantiFERON® Nil Tube (gray cap, white ring) | BD Vacutainer Lithium Heparin 6.0 mL Blood Collection Tubes; 13 x 100 mm REF: 367886 IMPORTANT NOTE: Specimens received in other tube types will be REJECTED. |
| QuantiFERON® TB1 Tube (green cap, white ring) | |
| QuantiFERON® TB2 Tube (yellow cap, white ring) | |
| QuantiFERON® Mitogen (purple cap, white ring | |
| Four Tube Collection | Single Tube Collection |
|---|
Differences in collection, transport, and stability:
| Collection | Firm 10 shakes after collection | Gently mixing 8 - 10 times after collection |
| Transport |
PRE-INCUBATION WHOLE BLOOD: POST-INCUBATION SEPARATED SERUM: |
CRITICAL REFRIGERATED (CRF) UNACCEPTABLE ROOM TEMPERATURE UNACCEPTABLE FROZEN |
| Stability |
PRIOR TO 37 DEGREE INCUBATION: AFTER 37 DEGREE INCUBATION: |
48 HOURS REFRIGERATED |
| Four Tube Collection | Single Tube Collection |
|---|
References:
1. Manufacturer’s Package Insert: LIAISON® QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus. REF: 311020