Feasibility of the T-SPOT (R). TB assay for the immunodiagnosis of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis using induced sputum

Diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) remains a challenge. In this a preliminary proof-of-concept study seeking to determine the feasibility of using cells from induced sputum for the immunodiagnosis of pulmonary TB (PTB) in smear-positive cases, a total of 75 subjects with PTB (n = 31) and healthy controls (n = 44) underwent the blood T-SPOT (R).TB test. T-SPOT. TB in induced sputum samples was performed in 29 of 31 TB and 14/44 healthy subjects. Induced sputum T-SPOT.TB results were indeterminate in 72.6% of TB and 100% of healthy subjects. The T-SPOT.TB test in induced sputum samples does not seem a feasible method for diagnosing PTB and needs improvement.