BACKGROUND Patients undergoing anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment are at an increased risk of reactivating a latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). This study evaluated the effectiveness of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) assay for diagnosing LTBI in arthritis patients undergoing anti-TNF treatment. METHODS We enrolled 342 consecutive patients from August 2007 to October 2013: 17...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is the most effective strategy to control tuberculosis (TB) among patients with HIV infection. The tuberculin skin test (TST) was the only available method to identify LTBI. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the usefulness of the interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs): QuantiFERON-tuberculosis (TB) Gold-In-Tub...

BACKGROUND QuantiFERONTB Gold (QFT) is a promising blood test for tuberculosis infection but with few data so far from immigrant screening. The aim of this study was to compare results of QFT and tuberculin skin test (TST) among newly arrived asylum seekers in Norway and to assess the role of QFT in routine diagnostic screening for latent tuberculosis infection. METHODS The 1000 asylum seeker...

BACKGROUND The tuberculin skin test (TST) is the standard tool to diagnose latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in mass screening. The aim of this study is to find an optimal cut-off point of the TST+ rate within tuberculosis (TB) contacts to predict the active TB development among adolescents in school TB outbreaks. METHODS The Korean National Health Insurance Review and Assessment database ...

The levels of resistance in the wild species of cassava, Manihot tristis Muell-Arg. (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae), to the whitefly, Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar (Hemiptera: Alelyrodidae), the most important economic pest in cassava, Manihot esculenta Crantz (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae) crops in South America, were estimated under glasshouse conditions. The parameters of the life history of ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the role of Exercise Tolerance Test (ETT) and Thallium Stress Test (TST) in the detection of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) among soldiers. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY This study was conducted at Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Multan, Pakistan, from 2002 to 2004. METHODOLOGY There were 291 male soldiers between ages 30 and 45 years ...

OBJECTIVE Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disorder involving the gastrointestinal tract. Immunosuppressive drugs are usually prescribed to treat IBD patients, and this treatment can lead to tuberculosis reactivation. This paper aimed to analyze tuberculin skin test (TST) results in IBD patients at a reference center in Brazil. METHODS We evaluated TST results in IBD patients usi...

The aim of the present study was to perform cost-minimisation analysis of contact investigation from a public health perspective using the tuberculin skin test (TST) and a new blood assay, QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G). A decision-analysis model simulated the costs of investigating a cohort of adult close tuberculosis contacts by the public health service following the current German guidelines o...

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) infection and atopic rhinitis in children recruited from a community with high incidence of MTB infections. The children were assessed for rhinitis according to the ISAAC questionnaire and tested for MTB infection by the tuberculin skin test (TST). Allergen-specific IgE sensitizations were tested b...