False-negative interferon-γ release assay results in active tuberculosis: a TBNET study
Extract
Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]. Rapid identification of contagious tuberculosis patients and effective treatment are necessary to prevent the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative bacterium of the disease. Although interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) have been developed for the diagnosis of latent infection with M. tuberculosis, these assays are sometimes used as adjunctive tests in the diagnostic workup for active tuberculosis, despite poor specificity [2].
Abstract
Advanced age was the only risk factor for false-negative IGRAs in this study of active tuberculosis http://ow.ly/Cvp5G
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside the online version of this article at erj.ersjournals.com
- Received June 30, 2014.
- Accepted September 29, 2014.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015