ArticleBMC infectious diseases2009
Use of a T cell interferon gamma release assay in the investigation for suspected active tuberculosis in a low prevalence area.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of interferon-gamma release assays for the diagnosis of tuberculosis: an updated meta-analysis.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2012Pooled it
- Evaluation of a New IFN-γ Release Assay for Rapid Diagnosis of Active Tuberculosis in a High-Incidence Setting.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2017Article
- HIV patients with latent tuberculosis living in a low-endemic country do not develop active disease during a 2 year follow-up; a Norwegian prospective multicenter study.BMC infectious diseases · 2014Article
- Article
- In routine UK hospital practice T-SPOT.TB™ is useful in some patients with a modest pre-test probability of active tuberculosis.European journal of internal medicine · 2012Article
- Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFTGIT) for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection in Afar Pastoralists, Ethiopia.BMC infectious diseases · 2010Article
- Evaluation of quantitative IFN-gamma response for risk stratification of active tuberculosis suspects.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2010Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn settings with low background prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) infection, interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) could be useful for diagnosing active TB. This study aims to evaluate the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) in the investigation for suspected active TB, with particular attention to patients originating in high-incidence countries. Furthermore, factors associated with QFT-G results in patients with active TB were assessed.
methodsFrom patients investigated for clinically suspected active TB, blood was obtained for QFT-G testing, in addition to routine investigations. Positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values for QFT-G were calculated, comparing patients with confirmed TB and those with other final diagnoses. QFT-G results in TB patients originating from countries with intermediate or high TB incidence were compared with QFT-G results from a control group of recently arrived asymptomatic immigrants from high-incidence countries. Factors associated with QFT-G outcome in patients with confirmed TB were assessed.
resultsAmong 141 patients, 41/70 (58.6%) with confirmed TB had a positive QFT-G test, compared to 16/71 (22.6%) patients with other final diagnoses, resulting in overall PPV of 71.9% and NPV of 67.6%. For patients with pulmonary disease, PPV and NPV were 61.1% and 67.7%, respectively, and 90.5% and 66.7% for subjects with extrapulmonary manifestations. Comparing patients from high-incidence countries with controls yielded a PPV for active TB of 76.7%, and a NPV of 82.7%. Patients with confirmed TB and positive QFT-G results were characterized by a lower median peripheral white blood cell count (5.9 x 10(9)/L vs. 8.8 x 10(9)/L; P < 0.001) and a higher median body mass index (22.7 vs. 20.7; P = 0.043) as compared to QFT-G-negative TB patients.
conclusionThe overall PPV and NPV of QFT-G for identifying active TB were unsatisfactory, especially for pulmonary disease. Thus, the usefulness of QFT-G for this purpose is questionable. However, a high PPV was observed for extrapulmonary TB and QFT-G might be considered in the diagnostic process in this situation. The PPV and NPV for identifying active TB among persons originating from regions with high-and intermediate TB incidence was similar to that observed in subjects originating in the low-incidence region.
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