# Diagnostic accuracy of Pluslife MiniDock MTB on tongue swabs in sputum scarce people with presumptive TB: a retrospective analysis

## TL;DR

This study evaluates a new TB test using tongue swabs for people who cannot produce sputum, showing improved detection rates compared to traditional sputum tests.

## Contribution

The study introduces the use of tongue swabs with the MiniDock MTB test for diagnosing TB in sputum-scarce populations.

## Key findings

- The MiniDock MTB test detected 53% of tuberculosis cases in sputum-scarce individuals.
- Using tongue swabs halved the number of missed TB cases compared to relying on sputum tests alone.

## Abstract

MiniDock MTB (Pluslife, China) is a near-point-of-care swab-based tuberculosis test. Most data are from people who can expectorate sputum. In 86 sputum-scarce symptomatic adults, retrospective testing detected 53% (95% CI 28–77) of tuberculosis; halving the amount missed if only sputum tests were available.