The original publication is available at http:/www.plosone.org / Introduction: The utility of T-cell based interferon-gamma release assays for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection remains unclear in settings with a high burden of tuberculosis. Objectives: To determine risk factors associated with positive QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) and tuberculin skin test (TST) results and the level of agreement between the tests; to explore the hypotheses that positivity in QFT-GIT is more related to recent infection and less affected by HIV than the TST. Methods: Adult household contacts of tuberculosis patients were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study across 24 communities in Zambia and South Africa. HIV, QFT-GIT and TST tests were done. A questionnaire was used to assess risk factors. Results: A total of 2,220 contacts were seen. 1,803 individuals had interpretable results for both tests, 1,147 (63.6%) were QFT-GIT positive while 725 (40.2%) were TST positive. Agreement between the tests was low (kappa = 0.24). QFT-GIT and TST results were associated with increasing age (adjusted OR [aOR] for each 10 year increase for QFT-GIT 1.15; 95% CI: 1.06-1.25, and for TST aOR: 1.10; 95% CI 1.01-1.20). HIV positivity was less common among those with positive results on QFT-GIT (aOR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.39-0.67) and TST (aOR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.46-0.82). Smear positivity of the index case was associated with QFT-GIT (aOR: 1.25; 95% CI: 0.90-1.74) and TST (aOR: 1.39; 95% CI: 0.98-1.98) results. We found little evidence in our data to support our hypotheses. Conclusion: QFT-GIT may not be more sensitive than the TST to detect risk factors associated with tuberculous infection. We found little evidence to support the hypotheses that positivity in QFT-GIT is more related to recent infection and less affected by HIV than the TST. © 2011 Shanaube et al. / Publishers' Version
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/11596 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Shanaube, Kwame, Hargreaves, James, Fielding, Katherine, Schaap, Ab, Lawrence, Katherine-Anne, Hensen, Bernadette, Sismanidis, Charalambos, Menezes, Angela, Beyers, Nulda, Ayles, Helen, Godfrey-Faussett, Peter |
| Publisher | Public Library of Science (PLOS) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article |
| Format | 11 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Authors retain copyright |
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