PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Aryan, Ehsan
AU  - Gouya, Mohammad-Mehdi
AU  - Sadrizadeh, Ali
AU  - Alvandi, Amir-Hooshang
AU  - Nabavi, Mahmoud
AU  - Tavakol Afshari, Jalil
AU  - Makvandi, Manoochehr
AU  - Ghazvini, Kiarash
AU  - Bagheri, Mahmoud
AU  - Golkarian, Sanaz
TI  - Comparative performance of interferon gamma release assays in detection of latent tuberculosis infection among health-care professionals
DP  - 2012 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2722
VI  - 40
IP  - Suppl 56
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2722.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2722.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40
AB  - Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) presents as the immersed part of the iceberg. Since health-care professionals (HCPs) are a group at increased risk of LTBI, the aim of this study was to clarify the role of IFN-γ response based on QuantiFERON-TB GOLD In Tube (QFT-GIT) and T-SPOT.TB assays in HCPs screening, comparing with the tuberculin skin test (TST).In this cross-sectional comparative study, HCPs were interviewed according to a risk factor questionnaire from July 2011 to January 2012. Subjects who had a history of household contact with a pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) case or had an underlying immunosuppressive disorder were excluded from the study. A total of 95 eligible HCPs working in a university hospital in northeast of Iran and in hospital wards with the highest number of admissions for patients with PTB were evaluated. The mean age of participants was 33 ± 7 years with a female/male ratio of 57/38. 84 HCPs (88.4%) were bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccinated at birth. Of the 95 HCPs, 43.2% were positive by TST, and about 29% by each of the IGRAs. Of 53 (55.8%) individuals with a positive test, 15 (28.3%) were positive to all three tests and 26 (49.1%) were simultaneously positive to at least two tests. The global agreements (k) between QFT-GIT and T-SPOT.TB with TST, and between the two IGRAs were 0.737, 0.684, and 0.779 respectively.BCG vaccination and prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria associated with reactivity to TST reagent could explain a part of discordance observed between the tests. To lessen concerns about interpretation of the results, we would recommend concomitant application of at least two tests for LTBI.