SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2016
Performance of interferon-γ release assays in the diagnosis of confirmed active tuberculosis in immunocompetent children: a new systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparing the Diagnostic Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus to Other Tests of Latent Tuberculosis Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021Pooled it
- Performance of metabonomic serum analysis for diagnostics in paediatric tuberculosis.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Interferon-Gamma Release Assays Versus Tuberculin Skin Test for Active Tuberculosis Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Diagnostic Meta-Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Clinical presentation, diagnostics, and outcomes of infants with congenital and postnatal tuberculosis: a multicentre cohort study of the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet).The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Public Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Screening for Active Tuberculosis Disease or Infection Among Children in South Africa.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Article
- Diagnostic Value of IP-10 Level in Plasma and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Children with Tuberculosis and Other Lung Diseases.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A prevalence study in Guadalajara, Mexico, comparing tuberculin skin test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube.PloS one · 2022Article
- A Difficult Case of Pyrexia of Unknown Origin.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2021Article
- Performance of immune-based and microbiological tests in children with tuberculosis meningitis in Europe: a multicentre Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet) study.The European respiratory journal · 2020Article
- Overview of Brain-to-Gut Axis Exposed to Chronic CNS Bacterial Infection(s) and a Predictive Urinary Metabolic Profile of a Brain Infected byFrontiers in neuroscience · 2020Review
- QuantiFERON-TB Performs Better in Children, Including Infants, than in Adults with Active Tuberculosis: a Multicenter Study.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2019Article
- Clinical value of interferon-γ release assay in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2019Article
- Recent Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Tuberculosis.Current infectious disease reports · 2019Review
- QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test in active tuberculosis patients and healthy adults.Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo · 2018Article
- Evaluating UK National Guidance for Screening of Children for Tuberculosis. A Prospective Multicenter Study.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2018Article
- Characteristics Associated with Negative Interferon-γ Release Assay Results in Culture-Confirmed Tuberculosis Patients, Texas, USA, 2013-2015.Emerging infectious diseases · 2018Article
- Quantitative Analysis of Gamma Interferon Release Assay Response in Children with Latent and Active Tuberculosis.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2018Article
- Tuberculosis in Infants and Children.Microbiology spectrum · 2017Review
- Tuberculosis: Is the landscape changing?Pediatric research · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTuberculosis (TB) is a global public health problem, causing morbidity and mortality in adults and children. The most reliable diagnostic tools currently available are the in vivo Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) and the ex vivo Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs). Several clinical, radiological, and bacteriological features make the detection of active (overt disease) TB in children difficult. Although recently developed immunological assays such as QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-IT) and T-SPOT®.TB are commonly used to identify active TB in adults, different evidence is required for diagnosis in children. The purpose of this study was to reassess the sensitivity and specificity of IGRAs in detecting microbiologically confirmed active TB in immunocompetent children.
methodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting on the diagnostic accuracy of tests for TB in immunocompetent children aged 0-18 years, with confirmation by positive M. tuberculosis cultures, were undertaken. Electronic databases were searched up to September 2015 and study quality assessment was performed using QUADAS-2.
resultsFifteen studies were included in our meta-analysis. Results showed that there were no significant differences in sensitivity between TST (88.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 79.4-94.2%), QFT-IT (89.6%, 95% CI 79.7-95.7%) and T SPOT (88.5%, 95% CI 80.4-94.1%). However, both QFT-IT (95.4%, 95% CI 93.8-96.6%) and T-SPOT (96.8%, 95% CI 94.2-98.5%) have significantly higher specificity than TST (86.3%, 95% CI 83.9-88.6%).
conclusionsQFT-IT and T-SPOT have higher specificity than TST for detecting active TB cases in immunocompetent children.
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Registered trials
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