Comparison of Tuberculin Skin Test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Test in Children

Seval ÖZEN, Fatih ÜÇKARDEŞ, Hatice UYGUN, Nurettin ERDEM, Nevzat AKGÜL, Mehmet TURĞUT
2022 Turkish Journal of Pediatric Disease  
Objective: Interferon-γ release tests (IGRAs) and tuberculin skin testing (TST) are important helpful tests for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) disease in children. It was aimed to compare the sensitivity and compatibility of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube test (QFT) and TST used in children with TB and Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Material and Methods: A total of 118 patients between September 2018 and January 2020 were included in the study prospectively to determine the case
more » ... s related to the performance of the tests, and to measure the sensitivity of these tests. Results: A total of 118 patients were included in the study; and 13 (11%) patients presented with pneumonia symptoms and 7 (6%) patients were diagnosed with TB in active TB Contact Screening. TB diagnosis was made 20% microbiologically. Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture positivity was found to be 10%. None of the patients had acidresistant bacilli positivity. The male / female rate was 74/44 in our study (p = 0.006). The median age was found to be 14 (1.17-19.2 years) in males, and 12 (0.33 -17.9 years) in females. The mean age of the LTBI Group was higher than the TB Group at significant levels (p <0.05), and was similar to the non-infected group (p>0.05). A total of 53.5% of the patients had a history of meeting someone with tuberculosis, and 97 children were vaccinated with BCG (82.2%). TST and QFT positivities were 19.5% and 22%, respectively. The most common radiological finding that was detected was consolidation areas. While there was moderate compliance between TST and IGRA test in patients with TB diagnosis (kappa =0.50, p=0.025), no compliance was found between tests in LTBI patients. In patients who were diagnosed with TB and LTBI, the sensitivity of TST was found to be 51.1%, and the sensitivity of QFT was found to be 60.4%. Conclusion: TST seems to continue as the most preferred method of diagnosis in rural areas with limited resources and poor laboratory infrastructure due to the costs and technical considerations.
doi:10.12956/tchd.984653 fatcat:pk5yddtdy5d5bpraadxnpliegu