Two interferon-gamma tests are more effective in detecting tuberculosis exposure in contacts than are traditional tuberculin skin tests (TST), according to the results of a randomized trial study reported in the March 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine.
"The tuberculin skin test (TST) has low specificity," write Sandra M. Arend, MD, from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues. "QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) [Cellestis, Carnegy, Australia)] and T-SPOT.TB [Oxford Immunotec, Oxford, UK] are based on interferon (IFN)-γ responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis–specific antigens. A novel in-tube format of QFT-G (QFT-GIT) offers logistical advantages."
The objective of this study was to compare TST, QFT-GIT, and T-SPOT.TB in bacillus Calmette-Guérin unvaccinated contacts and to correlate the results with other measures of recent exposure.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/553646?rss
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