If a person has a positive TB skin test or IGRA-QFT blood test, other tests are needed to see if a person has TB disease. If a person has TB disease in the lungs, the bacteria can spread to other people. Screening usually includes a check-up by a health professional for signs and symptoms of TB disease, a chest x-ray, and sputum collection.
Symptom Assessment
A symptom assessment is part of the screening process for TB disease. A health care professional will assess for signs and symptoms. For example, fever, chills, night sweats, new or worsening cough (lasting more that 3 weeks), fatigue, loss of appetite, or unexplained weight loss. A person may have other symptoms depending on where the TB bacteria is active and causing damage in the body.
Chest X-Ray
A chest radiograph (x-ray) is a picture of the heart, lungs and bones of the chest. A picture of the lungs helps health professionals see if a person has TB disease in the lungs.Sometimes, two pictures are taken: a front and a side view of the chest.
Sputum Testing
How to Collect Sputum.
Sputum is mucus or phlegm found in the lungs. It is produced by a deep cough from the chest. Sputum is not saliva or spit from the mouth. Sputum collection is an important part of TB screening. It is used to find out if a person has TB bacteria growing in the lungs.
Up to three plastic bottles to collect sputum samples will be given to you. Use a different bottle for each sample. Each sample should be done at least 1 hour apart. Follow the steps below to collect your sputum.
- Before you collect your sputum, try to avoid eating, drinking, smoking, brushing your teeth, or using mouthwash
- Remove the plastic bottle from the plastic bag. Do not remove the lab form from the bag. Open the plastic bottle. Do not touch the inside of the bottle or the cap.
- Breathe in deeply 2-3 times and then cough deeply from the chest to bring up sputum from the lungs (thick sputum collects in the lungs overnight). Try to cough up at least 1 to 2 teaspoons
- Spit the sputum into the plastic bottle. Close the plastic bottle cap tightly.
- Place bottle in the plastic bag. Remove the adhesive plastic band from the bag to close it.
- Refrigerate the bag with the sputum bottle right away to keep it cold. Do not freeze the sputum bottle.
- Wash your hands.
When the sputum samples are collected, tell your nurse or home visitor. He/she will pick up the bags with the sputum bottles and send them to the lab for testing.
Translations
This information is also available in the following languages. To request a copy, email us at targettb@toronto.ca or call 416-338-7600 and ask for the TB program.
- አማርኛ / Amharic
- العربية / Arabic
- বাংলা / Bengali
- Burmese
- 中文 / Chinese
- فارسی / Farsi
- Tagalog / Filipino
- Français / French
- ગુજરાતી / Gujarati
- हिन्दी / Hindi
- Magyar nyelv / Hungarian
- 한국어 / Korean
- Polish
- Portuguese
- ਪੰਜਾਬੀ / Punjabi
- Romanian
- русский / Russian
- Afsoomaali / Somali
- Español / Spanish
- བོད་སྐད་ / Tibetan
- Tigrinya
- தமிழ் / Tamil
- اردو / Urdu
- Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese
If you have any questions, please contact your healthcare provider or Toronto Public Health at 416-338-7600.
