ArticleCMAJ open
Potential role for interferon-γ release assays in tuberculosis screening in a remote Canadian community: a case series.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCurrent Canadian guidelines suggest that neonatal Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination does not result in false-positive tuberculosis (TB) skin tests, despite a growing body of evidence that interferon-γ release assays may be a more specific alternative in identifying latent tuberculosis infections in vaccinated populations. We set out to evaluate the relationship between TB skin tests and interferon-γ release assays in patients who previously received neonatal BCG vaccine.
methodsAll children with a positive skin test at age 14 years in a remote community north of Sioux Lookout, Ontario, were considered for interferon-γ release assay testing.
resultsOf the 11 children who underwent routine screening at 14 years of age for latent TB infection, 7 had a positive TB skin test (≥ 10 mm). All 7 of these children had received the BCG vaccine as newborns and all had a negative TB skin test during their routine screening at 4 years of age. No potential exposure to active TB could be identified. Chest radiographs were normal, and none of the children had symptoms suggestive of active TB. The 7 children underwent interferon-γ release assay testing using QuantiFERON Gold. All 7 tests were negative.
interpretationWith the addition of interferon-γ release assays to routine skin test screening, we provide evidence that neonatal BCG vaccination may contribute to a false-positive skin test in youth at 14 years of age. Consideration should be given to the possibility that neonatal BCG may contribute to false-positive TB skin tests.
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Registered trials
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.