Comparison of two commercial interferon-gamma assays for diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Comparison of 2 interferon-gamma assays and Roche Cobas Amplicor Mycobacterium tuberculosis assay for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis among patients with suspected tuberculosis in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Two commercial interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) assays, which are commonly used for diagnosing latent tuberculosis (TB), are also useful for diagnosis of active TB. In this study, the IFN-gamma assays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosis of TB were compared. METHODS A prospective comparison of the performance of 2 commercial IFN-gamma assays - QuantiFERON-TB Go...

Diagnostic tests Testing for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The approach to testing for tuberculosis depends on whether the aim is to diagnose active disease or latent infection. if active disease is suspected, it is important to identify the site of disease. Analysis of sputum specimens for mycobacteria should precede other tests. An infection should never be diagnosed as latent until active disease...

Author's response to reviews Title: Comparison of Two Interferon Gamma Release Assays in the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease in The Gambia Authors:

Performance of a whole blood interferon gamma assay for detecting latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in children.

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection with a tuberculin skin test (TST) in children is complicated by the potential influence of prior exposure to Bacille Calmette Geurin (BCG) vaccination or environmental mycobacteria. A whole blood assay has recently been developed to quantitatively measure interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production by lymphocytes specific...

Interferon-gamma release assays and childhood tuberculosis: systematic review and meta-analysis [Review article].

BACKGROUND Children infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis have significant risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) and can therefore benefit from preventive therapy. OBJECTIVE To assess the value of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) in the diagnosis of TB infection and disease in children. METHODS Thirty-three studies were included, assessing commerc...