The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued new recommendations for TB Testing in the expectation that ongoing shortages will continue until the new year. These new recommendations have been made in response to an anticipated shortage for Aplisol, a purified-protein derivative (PPD) tuberculin antigen approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for tuberculin skin tests (TSTs). The national backorder for Aplisol is expected to last 3 to 10 months, while Tubersol, another purified-protein derivative tuberculin antigen, is expected to see similar shortages due to an increase in demand, according to the CDC.

Due to the frequency in which nursing homes order testing for tuberculosis, with it often being standard testing for new admissions into a facility, Aculabs understands the concerns such a severe backorder can cause for post-acute care facilities. In the face of such news regarding the onset of shortages, we want to inform all client facilities that we are beginning to develop a system to address these shortages with the expectation of the backorder lasting throughout all of 2019. We have already begun assessing which tests will be acceptable alternatives, as cross-referenced with the CDC’s new recommendations, and have started rolling out internal procedures to our technical and phlebotomy staff regarding an anticipated influx of orders for TB Gold tests.

With the expectation that the national backorder will last throughout 2019, Aculabs will remain dedicated to minimizing any inconvenience this brings to facilities’ diagnostic workflows and will continue to send out updates as they develop.

Aculabs 2019 TB-Gold Testing Protocols: Click here. 

Nationwide Shortage – CDC Recommendations for Patient Care: Click here.

Read the CDC’s original shortage alert: Click here.

Access the FDA’s shortage-tracking tool: Click here.