ArticlePloS one2015
Diagnostic values of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube assay carried out in China for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diagnostic accuracy of interferon-gamma release assays for diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Blood or Urine IP-10 Cannot Discriminate between Active Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases Different from Tuberculosis in Children.BioMed research international · 2015Trial
- Comparison of interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin test performance for diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the Pakistani population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Clinical Utility of Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Prognostic Nutritional Index in Diagnosing Smear-Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis with Negative IGRA Results.Infection and drug resistance · 2025Article
- Virome analysis of ticks and tick-borne viruses in Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces, China.Virus research · 2023Article
- The TBAg/PHA ratio in T-SPOT.TB assay has high prospective value in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis: a multicenter study in China.Respiratory research · 2021Article
- Prospective Comparison of QFT-GIT and T-SPOT.TB Assays for Diagnosis of Active Tuberculosis.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Tuberculosis Biomarkers: From Diagnosis to Protection.Infectious disease reports · 2016Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInterferon-release assays (IGRAs) for diagnosing active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) are not yet fully validated, particularly in high TB-endemic areas as the People's Republic of China (PRC). The aim of this report was to assess the performance of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube (QFT-GIT) and tuberculin skin test (TST), in addition to microbiological results, as contributors for diagnosing active PTB in the PRC. METHODS/PRINCIPAL
findingsA total of 300 PTB patients, 41 disease controls (DC) and 59 healthy community controls (HCC) were included prospectively between May 2010 and April 2011 from two provinces of the PRC (Heilongjiang and Zhejiang). The QFT-GIT and TST yielded an overall sensitivity for active TB of 80.9% and 86.2%, and a specificity of 36.6% and 26.8%, respectively. The province of origin and smear microscopy status did not significantly impact the diagnostic values for PTB. However, using the TST with a 10 mm cut-off point, a significantly higher proportion of LTBI was observed in the DC than the HCC (p=0.01). Discordant results between the QFT-GIT and TST were found among 1/3 of the PTB, HCC and DC. Two-thirds of the individuals presented TST-positive/QFT-GIT-negative discordant results. The TST-negative/QFT-GIT-positive result was not associated with age or bacillary load. Cumulative QFT-GIT and TST positive results increased the overall sensitivity (95.9%), but it was associated with a dramatic decrease of the overall specificity (24.8%) leading to a suboptimal PPV (80.1%) and a low NPV (61.1%). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The usefulness of the QFT-GIT to diagnose active TB in high TB-endemic countries remains doubtful because like the TST, the QFT-GIT cannot distinguish between LTBI and active TB. Used as single stand-alone tests, both the QFT-GIT and TST have very limited roles in the diagnosis of active PTB. However, the combined use of SM, the TST and QFT-GIT may allow for the exclusion of ATB.
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