Trial reportBMC infectious diseases2020
Interpretation of serial interferon-gamma test results to measure new tuberculosis infection among household contacts in Zambia and South Africa.
Trial report in BMC infectious diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advancement in diagnostic approaches for latent tuberculosis: distinguishing recent from remote infections.One health outlook · 2025Review
- Undernourished Household Contacts Are at Increased Risk of Tuberculosis (TB) Disease, but not TB Infection-a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Analysis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Article
- Portable paper-based electrochemiluminescence test incorporating lateral-flow immunosensors for detection of interferon-γ levels.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2023Article
- The impact of a combined TB/HIV intervention on the incidence of TB infection among adolescents and young adults in the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial communities in Zambia and South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA more stringent QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) conversion (from negative to positive) definition has been proposed to allow more definite detection of recent tuberculosis (TB) infection. We explored alternative conversion definitions to assist the interpretation of serial QFT results and estimate incidence of TB infection in a large cohort study.
methodsWe used QFT serial results from TB household contacts aged ≥15 years, collected at baseline and during two follow-up visits (2006-2011) as part of a cohort study in 24 communities in Zambia and South Africa (SA). Conversion rates using the manufacturers' definition (interferon-gamma (IFN-g) < 0.35 to ≥0.35, 'def1') were compared with stricter definitions (IFN-g < 0.2 to ≥0.7 IU/ml, 'def2'; IFN-g < 0.2 to ≥1.05 IU/ml, 'def3'; IFN-g < 0.2 to ≥1.4 IU/ml, 'def4'). Poisson regression was used for analysis.
resultsOne thousand three hundred sixty-five individuals in Zambia and 822 in SA had QFT results available. Among HIV-negative individuals, the QFT conversion rate was 27.4 per 100 person-years (CI:22.9-32.6) using def1, 19.0 using def2 (CI:15.2-23.7), 14.7 using def3 (CI:11.5-18.8), and 12.0 using def4 (CI:9.2-15.7). Relative differences across def1-def4 were similar in Zambia and SA. Using def1, conversion was less likely if HIV positive not on antiretroviral treatment compared to HIV negative (aRR = 0.7, 95%CI = 0.4-0.9), in analysis including both countries. The same direction of associations were found using def 2-4.
conclusionHigh conversion rates were found even with the strictest definition, indicating high incidence of TB infection among household contacts of TB patients in these communities. The trade-off between sensitivity and specificity using different thresholds of QFT conversion remains unknown due to the absence of a reference standard. However, we identified boundaries within which an appropriate definition might fall, and our strictest definition plausibly has high specificity.
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