TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of the tuberculin skin test and Quanti-FERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-G) test for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in dialysis patients
AU - Al Jahdali, Hamdan
AU - Ahmed, Anwar E.
AU - Balkhy, Hanan H.
AU - Baharoon, Salim
AU - Al Hejaili, Fayez F.
AU - Hajeer, Ali
AU - Memish, Ziad
AU - Binsalih, Salih
AU - Al Sayyari, Abdullah A.
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - Dialysis patients are more likely than the general population to develop active tuberculosis (TB). In these patients, the availability of a highly sensitive and specific test to diagnose latent TB will ensure earlier treatment and decreased progression to active disease. In the current study, the Quanti-FERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-G) test was compared with the tuberculin skin test (TST) for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among 200 hemodialysis patients and 15 confirmed TB disease cases in a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia. Among the LTBI cases, 26 (13%) were TST positive, and 65 (32.5%) were positive by the QTF-G test, with an overall agreement between the 2 tests of 75.5% (. k=. 0.34) being observed. Among the confirmed tuberculosis disease cases, none were positive by TST, and 10 (66.7%) were positive by the QTF-G test, resulting in an overall agreement of 33.3% (. k=. 0). A comparison between the TST and the QTF-G test was performed based on the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) obtained for the tests. The QTF-G test was more sensitive and less specific than the TST in predicting the confirmed TB disease cases. When we tested the correspondence of the AUC values between the 2 diagnostic modalities, the obtained p-value was 0.0003. In conclusion, the AUCs of the examined diagnostic modalities are significantly different in predicting LTBI and tuberculosis.
AB - Dialysis patients are more likely than the general population to develop active tuberculosis (TB). In these patients, the availability of a highly sensitive and specific test to diagnose latent TB will ensure earlier treatment and decreased progression to active disease. In the current study, the Quanti-FERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-G) test was compared with the tuberculin skin test (TST) for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among 200 hemodialysis patients and 15 confirmed TB disease cases in a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia. Among the LTBI cases, 26 (13%) were TST positive, and 65 (32.5%) were positive by the QTF-G test, with an overall agreement between the 2 tests of 75.5% (. k=. 0.34) being observed. Among the confirmed tuberculosis disease cases, none were positive by TST, and 10 (66.7%) were positive by the QTF-G test, resulting in an overall agreement of 33.3% (. k=. 0). A comparison between the TST and the QTF-G test was performed based on the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) obtained for the tests. The QTF-G test was more sensitive and less specific than the TST in predicting the confirmed TB disease cases. When we tested the correspondence of the AUC values between the 2 diagnostic modalities, the obtained p-value was 0.0003. In conclusion, the AUCs of the examined diagnostic modalities are significantly different in predicting LTBI and tuberculosis.
KW - Chronic renal failure
KW - Dialysis
KW - Hemodialysis
KW - Latent tuberculosis infection
KW - QTF-G test
KW - Tuberculin skin test (TST)
KW - Tuberculosis (TB)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877655125&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jiph.2013.02.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jiph.2013.02.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 23668460
AN - SCOPUS:84877655125
SN - 1876-0341
VL - 6
SP - 166
EP - 172
JO - Journal of Infection and Public Health
JF - Journal of Infection and Public Health
IS - 3
ER -