| Tuberculin Skin Test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Assay before and after Treatment for Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Health Care Workers in Local Tertiary Hospital. |
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Seung Jun Lee, Hyeon Sik Kim, Jung Eun Ma, Sang Min Lee, Hyun Seok Ham, Yu Ji Cho, Yi Yeong Jeong, Ho Cheol Kim, Jong Deok Lee, Sun Joo Kim, Young Sil Hwang |
1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea. hochkim@gsnu.gshp.co.kr
2Department of Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea. |
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| Abstract |
BACKGROUND
The QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay and tuberculin skin test (TST) have been useful test for diagnosing latent tuberculosis infections (LTBI). However, there are few reports on the efficacy of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay and TST in evaluating the response after the treatment of LTBI. This study examined the changes in the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay before and after a treatment for latent tuberculosis in health care workers (HCWs) at a local tertiary hospital. METHODS: A cohort of volunteers working as nurses and doctors who underwent a TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay was established. The volunteers positive for the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay had been treated with 3 months of isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RFP). After completing treatment, the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay were repeated. RESULTS: Of the 48 participants (14 doctors, 34 nurses, M: F=11:37, mean age=29.9+/-5.5 years, mean employment period=74.9+/-64.3 months), 19 (39.6%) tested positive to the TST (mean induration=19.1+/-9.7 mm) and 8 (16.7%) were QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay. Among them, one had active pulmonary tuberculosis. Seven volunteers were consistently positive to both the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay after being medicated with INH and RFP for 3 months. CONCLUSION: TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay are unsuitable for evaluating the treatment response of LTBI because they were consistently positive both before and after the anti-tuberculosis medication. |
| Key Words:
Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), Treatment, Tuberculin skin test (TST), QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay, Health care workers |
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