BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to determine the preferences and perspectives regarding the Quantiferon TB Gold test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in India. A survey was distributed among 46 uveitis specialists, rheumatologists, and pulmonologists with a minimum of 2 years experience in the management of tuberculosis, in order to restrict the respondents to specialists who have use...

OBJECTIVES To determine the performance of the FASTPlaqueTB test, based on bacteriophage amplification technology, by comparison with the BACTEC 460 TB culture system, the Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium culture method and Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining. METHODS Of 400 sputum specimens studied in our laboratory, 19 were excluded due to contaminant growth. The FASTPlaqueTB test was performed accord...

BACKGROUND Effective tuberculosis (TB) control in HIV-prevalent settings is hindered by absence of accurate, rapid TB diagnostic tests. We evaluated the accuracy of a urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) test for TB diagnosis in South Africa. METHODS Hospitalized adults with signs and/or symptoms of active TB were enrolled. Sputum smear microscopy and mycobacterial culture, mycobacterial blood cultu...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The usefulness of interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) in monitoring to responses to anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment is controversial. We compared the results of two IGRAs before and after anti-TB treatment in same patients with active TB. METHODS From a retrospective review, we selected patients with active TB who underwent repeated QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFN-Gold, Cellestis Li...

BACKGROUND The two interferon-γ release assays such as QuantiFERON-TB Gold / In-Tube (QFT-TB) and T-SPOT.TB-are useful tools for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) but can yield indeterminate test results (ITRs). While some studies have identified risk factors for ITRs in the QFT-TB test, there have been few such studies for the T-SPOT.TB test. The aim of this study was to investigate the...

BACKGROUND QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube® (QFT-GIT) test is used for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection. Besides, QFT-GIT test could allow tracking changes in immune response among TB patients and their contacts. In high TB burden settings, reports on QFT-GIT conversions and reversions among TB patients and their contacts are limited. As part of a major project to study immune re...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis (TB) using routinely available diagnostic methods is challenging due to the paucibacillary nature of the disease. Histopathology and pleural tissue TB culture involves an invasive procedure which requires expertise and appropriate equipment, both often unavailable in many health units. Xpert MTB/Rif test has been widely evaluated in sputum specimens ...