ArticleClinical and vaccine immunology : CVI2011
Within-subject variability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific gamma interferon responses in German health care workers.
Article in Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reproducibility of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release Assays. A systematic review.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2014Pooled it
- A detailed analysis of borderline results in the QuantiFERON-TB Gold-Plus assay incorporating longitudinal follow-up: intermediate-burden setting.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Impact of clinical sample processing time on the performance and T-cell response of the T-SPOT.TB assay.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Variability of interferon-γ release assays in people at high risk of tuberculosis infection or progression to tuberculosis disease living in the United States.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022Article
- Comparative Evaluation of Standard E TB-Feron ELISA and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus Assays in Patients with Tuberculosis and Healthcare Workers.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Cytokine and Chemokine mRNA Expressions afterDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Diagnosis for Latent Tuberculosis Infection: New Alternatives.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Review
- Expression of USP18 and IL2RA Is Increased in Individuals Receiving Latent Tuberculosis Treatment with Isoniazid.Journal of immunology research · 2019Article
- QFT-Plus: a plus in variability? - Evaluation of new generation IGRA in serial testing of students with a migration background in Germany.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2017Article
- Serial testing for latent tuberculosis using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube: A Markov model.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Repeatability of QuantiFERON-TB gold in-tube assay results near cut-off points.Annals of laboratory medicine · 2016Article
- Cough Aerosol Cultures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Insights on TST / IGRA Discordance and Transmission Dynamics.PloS one · 2015Article
- Quantiferon Gold-in-tube assay for TB screening in HIV infected children: influence of quantitative values.BMC infectious diseases · 2014Article
- IGRA-positive patients and interferon-gamma/interleukin-2 signatures: can the Fluorospot assay provide further information?Infection · 2014Article
- Variability of the QuantiFERON®-TB gold in-tube test using automated and manual methods.PloS one · 2014Article
- Article
- Tuberculosis screening at the Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris - results of first and second IGRA.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2014Article
- Attitudes about tuberculosis prevention in the elimination phase: a survey among physicians in Germany.PloS one · 2014Article
- Occupational screening for tuberculosis and the use of a borderline zone for interpretation of the IGRA in German healthcare workers.PloS one · 2014Article
- Challenges with QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay for large-scale, routine screening of U.S. healthcare workers.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRAs) are used increasingly for the periodic tuberculosis (TB) screening of health care workers (HCWs), although data regarding the reproducibility and interpretation of serial testing results in countries with a low incidence of TB are scarce. The present study evaluated and compared the within-subject variability of dichotomous and continuous results of two commercial IGRAs, the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) and the T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT), in German HCWs during a 4-week period. Thirty-five immunocompetent HCWs with low or medium TB screening risk and without known recent TB exposure or tuberculin skin test application were tested repeatedly with both IGRAs at weekly intervals. A total of 158 valid results were obtained for each IGRA. Changes of about ±70% (QFT) and ±60% (T-SPOT) from the mean IFN-γ response accounted for 95% of the within-subject variability. However, according to the manufacturers' cutoffs, inconsistent results were observed more frequently for the QFT (28.6%; four conversions, six reversions) than for the T-SPOT (8.6%; three reversions; P < 0.001). The overall agreement between the IGRAs was good. Regression toward the means accounted for a significant decline in mean IFN-γ responses of about 25% between successive visits for both IGRAs. Although both assays were highly reliable and reproducible, we observed substantial within-subject variability and regression toward the means during a 4-week period, which should be considered when interpreting serial testing results in comparable populations and settings. Our data support the use of borderline zones for the interpretation of serial IGRA results and the retesting of borderline positive results before offering preventive chemotherapy.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.