ArticleCanadian respiratory journal
Use of interferon-gamma release assays in a health care worker screening program: experience from a tertiary care centre in the United States.
Article in Canadian respiratory journal. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk of Occupational Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Health Personnel Measured by Interferon-Gamma Release Assays in Low Incidence Countries-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Reproducibility of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release Assays. A systematic review.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2014Pooled it
- Tuberculosis Infection Screening in 5468 Italian Healthcare Students: Investigation of a Borderline Zone Value for the QFT-Test.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The Direct Comparison of Two Interferon-gamma Release Assays in the Tuberculosis Screening of Japanese Healthcare Workers.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2017Article
- Cost analysis of tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube test for tuberculosis screening in a correctional setting in Dallas, Texas, USA.BMC infectious diseases · 2016Article
- Serial testing for latent tuberculosis using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube: A Markov model.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Occupational screening for tuberculosis and the use of a borderline zone for interpretation of the IGRA in German healthcare workers.PloS one · 2014Article
- Gamma interferon release assays for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2014Review
- 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
- Trajectories of tuberculosis-specific interferon-gamma release assay responses among medical and nursing students in rural India.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2013Article
- Screening for tuberculosis and the use of a borderline zone for the interpretation of the interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) in Portuguese healthcare workers.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2013Article
- Serial IGRA testing of trainees in the healthcare sector in a country with low incidence for tuberculosis - a prospective cohort study.GMS hygiene and infection control · 2013Article
- Repeat IGRA testing in Canadian health workers: conversions or unexplained variability?PloS one · 2013Article
- Interferon-gamma release assays for screening of health care workers in low tuberculosis incidence settings: dynamic patterns and interpretational challenges.Canadian respiratory journalArticle
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInterferon-gamma release assays including the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT [Cellestis Ltd, Australia]) may be used in place of the tuberculin skin test (TST) in surveillance programs for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection control. However, data on performance and practicality of the QFT-GIT in such programs for health care workers (HCWs) are limited.
objectivesTo assess the performance, practicality and reversion rate of the QFT-GIT among HCWs at a tertiary health care institution in the United States.
methodsRetrospective chart review of HCWs at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (Arkansas, USA) who underwent QFT-GIT testing as a part of their employee screening between November 1, 2008 and October 31, 2009.
resultsQFT-GIT was used to screen 3290 HCWs. The initial QFT-GIT was interpreted as positive for 129 (3.9%) HCWs, negative for 3155 (95.9%) and indeterminate for six (0.2%). Testing with QFT-GIT was repeated in 45 HCWs who had positive results on the initial test. The QFT-GIT reverted to negative in 18 (40.0%) HCWs, all of whom had negative TST status and initial interferon-gamma values of 0.35 IU⁄mL to 2.0 IU⁄mL.
conclusionThe QFT-GIT test is feasible in large health care setting as an alternative to TST for M tuberculosis infection screening in HCWs but is not free from challenges. The major concerns are the high number of positive test results and high reversion rates on repeat testing, illustrating poor short-term reproducibility of positive QFT-GIT test results. These results suggest adopting a borderline zone between interferon-gamma values of 0.35 IU⁄mL to 2.0 IU⁄mL, and cautious clinical interpretation of values in this range.
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