Extrapulmonary tuberculosis

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Preventive Services Task Force recommend that asymptomatic adults at increased risk of infection in the US are screened.[86]US Preventive Services Task Force. Latent tuberculosis infection in adults: screening. May 2023 [internet publication]. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/latent-tuberculosis-infection-screening ​ These include persons born in or former residents of countries with high TB prevalence, current or former residents of high-risk congregate settings, people living with HIV, recent immigrants from moderate and high-incidence countries, patients starting immunosuppressive medications, intravenous drug users, healthcare workers who serve high-risk populations, and contacts of infectious TB cases. Tuberculin skin testing (TST) and interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are the standard methods for identifying people with latent TB infection (LTBI).

Targeted screening and treatment of LTBI is only one aspect of controlling TB in a community; it is recommended that priority is given to early detection and completion of treatment of active TB cases and investigating close contacts of infectious TB cases.

Screening persons other than those in high-risk populations is not recommended. It places a burden on resources and can give rise to false-positive results (both TST and IGRA).