Role of confirmatory interferon-gamma release assays in school outbreaks of tuberculosis in South Korea

H. J. Kim, G. H. Lee, S. Ryoo, S. Y. Oh, J. B. Lee, J. H. Kim, C. Shin, Seung Heon Lee

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    7 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the usefulness of confirmatory QuantiFERON® (QFT) testing among tuberculin skin test (TST) positive contacts to diagnose latent tuberculous infection (LTBI) in tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks among adolescents. DESIGN: We used the Korean national claims database to identify the development of active TB disease in relation to initial TST (cut-off 10 mm induration) and subsequent QFT results. RESULTS: A total of 7475 contacts in 89 schools were divided into four groups: TST-(n = 5714), TST+/QFT+(n = 534), TST+/QFT- (n = 697) and TST+ only (n = 530). The mean duration of follow-up was 3.9 ± 0.9 years. For contacts with no LTBI treatment (n = 6868), TB incidence rates per 1000 person-years (py) and the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) compared with TST-individuals were as follows: TST+/QFT+, 66.2/1000 py (HR 35.59, 95%CI 14.03-90.31, P < 0.001); TST+ only, 10.1/1000 py (HR 5.16, 95%CI 2.91-9.17, P < 0.001); TST+/QFT-, 4.0/1000 py (HR 2.05, 95%CI 1.05-4.01, P = 0.035); and TST- 2.0/1000 py. The TB progression rate was significantly higher in TST+/QFT+ than in TST+/QFT-individuals (HR 16.82, 95 CI 5.84-48.46, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A confirmatory QFT for TST+contacts could reduce the number of candidates for LTBI treatment after school TB outbreaks.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)576-581
    Number of pages6
    JournalInternational Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
    Volume19
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015 May 1

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2015 The Union.

    Keywords

    • Latent tuberculous infection
    • Quanti-FERON test
    • TB outbreaks
    • Tuberculin skin test

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Medicine

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