Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29975703›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Comparison of latent tuberculosis infection screening strategies before tumor necrosis factor inhibitor treatment in inflammatory arthritis: IGRA-alone versus combination of TST and IGRA.

Dae Hyun Jeong, Jieun Kang, Young Ju Jung, Bin Yoo, Chang-Keun Lee, Yong-Gil Kim, Seokchan Hong, Tae Sun Shim, Kyung-Wook Jo

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. La Tunisie medicale · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Dae Hyun JeongDivision of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Jieun KangDivision of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Young Ju JungDivision of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Bin YooDepartment of Rheumatology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Chang-Keun LeeDepartment of Rheumatology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Yong-Gil KimDepartment of Rheumatology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Seokchan HongDepartment of Rheumatology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Tae Sun ShimDivision of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
Kyung-Wook JoDivision of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-5949-248X
Ulsan College · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aims to compare the latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening strategy of interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA)-alone and in combination with tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) before the initiation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor treatment in patients with inflammatory arthritis. Between January 2011 and June 2017, we enrolled 476 patients who were followed up for ≥1 year after the TNF inhibitor initiation in a tertiary referral center in South Korea. Inflammatory arthritis comprised rheumatoid arthritis in 266 (55.9%) and ankylosing spondylitis in 210 (44.1%) patients. The following strategies were used for LTBI screening during the study period: (i) from January 2011 to October 2014, the combination of TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT); (ii) between November 2014 and February 2015, QFT-GIT-alone and (iii) since March 2015, either the combination of TST and QFT-GIT or QFT-GIT-alone depending on the attending physician's choice. We compared the screening strategies of QFT-GIT alone and in combination with TST. Overall, 338 (71.0%) patients received LTBI screening tests using the combination of TST and QFT-GIT, and 138 (29.0%) received QFT-GIT-alone. In addition, the LTBI tests were positive in 159 (47.0%) of 338 patients using the combination tests, and 43.8% (148/338) required LTBI treatment. Meanwhile, the LTBI tests were positive in 32.6% (45/138) of QFT-GIT-alone patients, and 30.4% (42/138) required LTBI treatment. Among 338 patients who received combination tests, 2 patients developed active tuberculosis within 1 year after the TNF inhibitor initiation. Of patients who received QFT-GIT-alone, no patient developed tuberculosis. In conclusion, among patients who received QFT-GIT-alone, the number of patients who required LTBI treatment declined compared to the TST and QFT-GIT combination, and none developed active tuberculosis within 1 year, suggesting that QFT-GIT-alone could be a potential screening strategy for diagnosing LTBI in patients with inflammatory arthritis in South Korea.

Indexed as

Interferon-gamma Release TestsTuberculin TestAdultAgedAged, 80 and overArthritis, RheumatoidFemaleHumansInflammationLatent TuberculosisMaleMass ScreeningMiddle AgedRepublic of KoreaSpondylitis, AnkylosingTertiary Care CentersTumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Identifiers

PMID29975703
PMCPMC6033383
OpenAlexW2839701134

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.