Publication date: Jul 04, 2025
Background: Tongue swabs are a promising alternative specimen for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis, with high specificity (>98%) but lower sensitivity than sputum-based molecular tests. We investigated whether increased sample availability could offset lower sensitivity, resulting in similar diagnostic yield. Methods: From September 2024-January 2025, we screened consecutive people with presumptive TB at health centers in the Philippines, Vietnam, Uganda, and Zambia. Enrolled participants were asked to provide tongue swabs and referred for routine sputum collection. Tongue swabs were tested in research laboratories using the MiniDock MTB Test (Guangzhou Pluslife Biotech Co., Ltd., China); sputum was tested using WHO-recommended molecular testing per national guidelines. We compared diagnostic yield, defined as positive test results among those seeking testing, between tongue swab- and sputum-based molecular testing with a pre-specified non-inferiority margin of {+/-}3%. Findings: Of 1,639 participants, 851 (51{middle dot}9%) were female, 415 (25{middle dot}3%) were living with HIV and 132 (8{middle dot}1%) were children
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Biotech | Alternative |
| July | Based |
| Philippines | Compared |
| Tuberculosis | Diagnostic |
| High | |
| Lower | |
| Molecular | |
| Preprint | |
| Sputum | |
| Swab | |
| Swabs | |
| Testing | |
| Tongue | |
| Tuberculosis | |
| Yield |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | tuberculosis |
| pathway | KEGG | Tuberculosis |
| disease | MESH | Pulmonary Diseases |
| disease | MESH | infection |
| disease | IDO | country |
| disease | MESH | morbidity |
| disease | IDO | process |
| disease | IDO | nucleic acid |