Tdap Blood Test - More Information

The Tdap titer, also known as a Tdap blood test, Tdap lab test and Tdap immunity test, checks for Tdap IgG antibodies in the blood.

Tdap stands for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. The Tdap vaccine protects against these three diseases and has largely replaced the Td vaccine as the standard in immunization schedules given the added protection that it offers in a single dose. The Tdap blood test - consisting of the tetanus and diphtheria titer and the pertussis titer - helps evaluate immunity to Tdap by checking whether the immune system is producing Tdap IgG antibodies in the blood.

To get a Tdap titer near you, order online and get tested at the Quest Diagnostics lab that you selected. Once your Tdap lab test report is ready, it will be available for download. As can be seen on the sample Tdap lab report above, the components of the Tdap will report IgG antibody blood levels as numbers which can be compared against the reference range provided by the lab. This Tdap lab test provides quantitative IgG antibody results and a positive Tdap antibody results typically means that one is considered immune to the individual component(s) of Tdap. Tdap immunity can vary from person to person and may wane over time.

The Tdap titer is frequently ordered by students and healthcare workers who need to demonstrated Tdap immunity before entering a hospital or other healthcare setting. One other reason while some people prefer the Tdap antibody titer over getting revaccinated with the Tdap immunization is that the Tdap vaccine is quite painful when administered. Some describe the feeling of the Tdap vaccination as being punched in the arm which makes getting the Tdap blood test alternative more palatable for demonstrating immunity. For compliance reasons, the Tdap blood test is frequently ordered with the hepatitis B titer, MMR titer, and varicella titer as well as the QuantiFERON-Gold TB blood test. Following Tdap vaccination, many healthy adults have been found to generate a robust immune response.

Sometimes, Tdap and DTaP are acronyms that are used interchangeably to represent the combination of blood tests or vaccines representing tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis but that is not entirely accurate. In the medical world, DTaP typically refers to the DTaP vaccine which is given to younger children. On the other hand, Tdap usually refers to the Tdap vaccine which is given to children over the age of 11 and adults. Because the Tdap and DTaP vaccines are slightly different, they should be thought of differently.