Abstract: Objective To investigate the value of tuberculous infection of T cells spot test (T-SPOT.TB)in the diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis.Methods The study enrolled 80 patients who were confirmed osteoarticular tuberculosis and 44 did not have active tuberculosis. Acid-fast staining,mycobacterial culture,real-time quantitative PCR were respectively performed for the patients.The results were compared and analyzed.Results The sensitivity,specificity, accuracy for osteoarticular tuberculosis diagnosis by T-SPOT.TB assay were 82.5%,75.0% and 79.8%.The positive rate of T-SPOT.TB was significantly higher than that of acid-fast staining, mycobacterial culture(P < 0.05).But,there were no statistical difference in different locations (spine or extremities joint)and courses between groups.Conclusion The results suggested that T-SPOT.TB assay could provide useful aids in the diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis.

Key words: tuberculosis, osteoarticular, tuberculous infection of T cells spot test, diagnosis