ArticleThorax2006
Performance of a whole blood interferon gamma assay for detecting latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in children.
Article in Thorax, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 202 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk Factors for Indeterminate Interferon-Gamma Release Assay for the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2019Pooled it
- Recommendations for the screening of paediatric latent tuberculosis infection in indigenous communities: a systematic review of screening strategies among high-risk groups in low-incidence countries.BMC public health · 2018Pooled it
- Latent tuberculosis infection screening in immigrants to low-incidence countries: a meta-analysis.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2015Pooled it
- Systematic review: T-cell-based assays for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection: an update.Annals of internal medicine · 2008Pooled it
- Diagnostic value of interferon- gamma release assays (QuantiFERON-TB Gold® In Tube) in childhood tuberculosis.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2012Trial
- Risk Factors for False-Negative T-SPOT.TB Results in Bacteriologically Confirmed Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 4,931 Patients.Infection and drug resistance · 2026Article
- Performance of whole blood interferon-γ release assays in SARS-CoV-2 and tuberculosis is age dependent.Infection · 2025Article
- Interferon-gamma release assay for screening of tuberculosis infection in children.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- THE ROLE OF INTERFERON-GAMMA RELEASE ASSAYS IN DIAGNOSIS OF LATENT TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION IN CHILDREN.Acta clinica Croatica · 2023Review
- Risk Factors for False-Negative Interferon-γ Release Assay Results in Culture-Confirmed Childhood TB.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2019Article
- Article
- Comparison of IFN-γ Levels in Children with Tuberculosis Disease (TB) and Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI).Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences · 2018Article
- Article
- Usefulness of interferon-γ release assay for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in young children.Korean journal of pediatrics · 2016Article
- Tuberculosis Infection in Early Childhood and the Association with HIV-exposure in HIV-uninfected Children in Rural Uganda.The Pediatric infectious disease journal · 2016Article
- The Use of Interferon Gamma Inducible Protein 10 as a Potential Biomarker in the Diagnosis of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Uganda.PloS one · 2016Article
- Cough Aerosol Cultures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Insights on TST / IGRA Discordance and Transmission Dynamics.PloS one · 2015Article
- Study of the BCG Vaccine-Induced Cellular Immune Response in Schoolchildren in Antananarivo, Madagascar.PloS one · 2015Article
- Comparison of Tuberculin Skin Test result and interferon gamma response to human PPD in BCG scar positive and negative children.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2014Article
- Comparing interferon-gamma release assays to tuberculin skin test in Thai children with tuberculosis exposure.PloS one · 2014Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection with a tuberculin skin test (TST) in children is complicated by the potential influence of prior exposure to Bacille Calmette Geurin (BCG) vaccination or environmental mycobacteria. A whole blood assay has recently been developed to quantitatively measure interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production by lymphocytes specific to the MTB antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10, but its use and assessment in children has been limited. A study was undertaken to compare the performance of the whole blood IFN-gamma assay with the TST in diagnosing latent tuberculosis (TB) infection or TB disease in children in routine clinical practice.
methodsOne hundred and six children with a high risk of latent TB infection or TB disease were enrolled in the study. High risk was defined as contact with TB disease, clinical suspicion of TB disease, or recent arrival from an area of high TB prevalence. The whole blood IFN-gamma assay was undertaken in 101 children.
resultsSeventeen (17%) of the 101 assays yielded inconclusive results due to failure of positive or negative control assays. There was poor correlation between the whole blood IFN-gamma assay and the TST (kappa statistic 0.3) with 26 (70%) of the 37 children defined as latent TB infection by TST having a negative whole blood IFN-gamma assay. There were no instances of a positive whole blood IFN-gamma assay with a negative TST. Mitogen (positive) control IFN-gamma responses were significantly correlated with age (Spearman's coefficient = 0.53, p<0.001) and, in children with latent TB infection identified by TST, those with a positive IFN-gamma assay were older (median 12.9 v 6.92 years, respectively, p = 0.007). The whole blood IFN-gamma assay was positive in all nine children with TB disease.
conclusionThere was poor agreement between the whole blood IFN-gamma assay and TST for the diagnosis of latent TB. The whole blood IFN-gamma assay may have lower sensitivity than the TST in diagnosing TB infection in children. A significant proportion of whole blood IFN-gamma assays fail when used as a screening assay in routine practice.
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