title: Official American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Clinical Practice Guidelines: Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Adults and Children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individuals infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) may develop symptoms and signs of disease (tuberculosis disease) or may have no clinical evidence of disease (latent tuberculosis infection [LTBI]). Tuberculosis disease is a leading cause of infectious disease morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet many questions related to its diagnosis remain.
  
  
  METHODS
  A task force supported by the American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Infectious Diseases Society of America searched, selected, and synthesized relevant evidence. The evidence was then used as the basis for recommendations about the diagnosis of tuberculosis disease and LTBI in adults and children. The recommendations were formulated, written, and graded using the Grading, Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three evidence-based recommendations about diagnostic testing for latent tuberculosis infection, pulmonary tuberculosis, and extrapulmonary tuberculosis are provided. Six of the recommendations are strong, whereas the remaining 17 are conditional.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These guidelines are not intended to impose a standard of care. They provide the basis for rational decisions in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the context of the existing evidence. No guidelines can take into account all of the often compelling unique individual clinical circumstances.
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lewinsohn
authors.affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine and.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: LoBue
authors.affiliation: Denver Public Health Department, Denver, Colorado.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.affiliation: National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado Denver, and.
authors.forename: Charles L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Daley
authors.affiliation: California Department of Public Health, Richmond.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Desmond
authors.affiliation: St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keane
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lewinsohn
authors.affiliation: Francis J. Curry International TB Center, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Loeffler
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Gerald H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Mazurek
authors.affiliation: Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: McGill University and McGill International TB Centre, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Madhukar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richeldi
authors.affiliation: National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salfinger
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Shinnick
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Nashville, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Sterling
authors.affiliation: Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, and.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Warshauer
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock.
authors.forename: Gail L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Woods
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D055985:Latent Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology