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QuantiFERON-TB Gold (quantiferon-tb + gold)
Selected Abstracts2263: Analysis of the utility of QuantiFERON-TB GoldTM in tube and measurement of IFN, release by peripheral mononuclear cells in response to different mycobacterium antigen in the work-up of patients with uveitisACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2010D MAKHOUL Purpose Tuberculosis remains an important cause of infectious uveitis and immune reaction against mycobacteria may contribute to the development of certain forms of autoimmune uveitis. Moreover, many non-infectious uveitis patients are treated with immunomodulatory treatment. The evaluation of tuberculosis immunity is thus an important aspect in the work-up of patients with uveitis. In this work, we would like to investigate the usefulness of different methods of tuberculosis immunity testing in a series of patients with intraocular inflammation. Methods Patients with uveitis will undergo a standard diagnosis procedure, including a chest Xray. Quantiferon TB Gold in Tube (QFT) and tuberculin skin test (TST) will be performed. IFN, production by mononuclear cells in response to PPD and to HBHA will be measured by ELISA. Results Thirty-two patients have already been recruited. Sixteen had a negative QFT and a negative TST. In two of them, mononuclear cells produce IFN, in response to PPD (but not to HBHA) and in 1 in response to HBHA (but not to PPD). In 11 patients QFT and TST were positive. In this group, IFN, response to PPD was observed in 82% but only in 50% in response to HBHA. Discordant results between QFT and TST were observed in 5 patients. One had a positive QFT and a negative TST and 4 had a positive TST and a negative QFT. In this group IFN, response to PPD or HBHA was not observed. Conclusion Discordant results between QuantiFERON-TB Gold and TST were observed in 15 % of uveitis patients. Analysis of the IFN, production in response to PPD and to HBHA seems to add important information in both concordant and discordant group. [source] Feasibility of commercial interferon-,-based methods for the diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in Finland, a country of low incidence and high bacille Calmette,Guérin vaccination coverageCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 8 2007T. Tuuminen Abstract The performances of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tubes (QFGT), T SPOT-TB (ELISPOT) and the Mantoux test were compared for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in Finland, a country of low tuberculosis incidence. In Cohort A (16 students), freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and in Cohort B (21 school children), cryopreserved PBMCs, were used for the ELISPOT assay. Cryopreservation of cells in fetal calf serum, but not in serum-free medium, produced false-positive results. Discrepancies between the results of the assays were observed. It was concluded that the accuracy of these ex-vivo methods needs additional evaluation. [source] Accuracy of an immune diagnostic assay based on RD1 selected epitopes for active tuberculosis in a clinical setting: a pilot studyCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 6 2006D. Goletti Abstract A previous case-control study reported that an in-vitro interferon (IFN)-, response to early secreted antigenic target (ESAT)-6 selected peptides was associated with active tuberculosis (A-TB). The objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of this assay for TB disease in a clinical setting. An IFN-, ELISPOT assay was performed on samples from patients with suspected A-TB using two peptides selected from ESAT-6 protein and three peptides selected from culture filtrate 10 (CFP-10) proteins. The results were compared with those obtained by two commercially available assays approved for diagnosis of TB infection (T SPOT-TB and QuantiFERON-TB Gold) which use ESAT-6/CFP-10 (RD1) overlapping peptides. Sensitivity to the RD1 selected peptides was 70% (positive for 16 of 23 patients with microbiologically diagnosed A-TB) and specificity was 91% (positive for three of 32 controls). In contrast, the sensitivity and specificity were 91% and 59%, respectively, for T SPOT-TB, and were 83% and 59%, respectively, for QuantiFERON-TB Gold. The RD1 selected peptides assay had the highest diagnostic odds ratio for A-TB. Thus, the results suggest that an assay based on RD1 selected peptides has a higher diagnostic accuracy for A-TB in a clinical setting compared with commercially available assays based on RD1 overlapping peptides. [source] Hidradenitis suppurativa responding to treatment with infliximabAUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Anita Lasocki ABSTRACT A series of four cases of severe recalcitrant hidradenitis suppurativa treated with infliximab is presented. All patients had failed to respond to prior medical and surgical management. Baseline Quantiferon-TB Gold and chest radiograph were carried out before commencement of treatment. No patients had associated Crohn's disease. All patients received induction infusions of infliximab 5 mg/kg at weeks 0, 2 and 6, followed by eight weekly maintenance infusions. The total number of infusions varied between 4 and 6. Skin photography with Sartorius scoring was used to evaluate response to treatment. All patients experienced marked improvement in their disease activity, with a mean 48% improvement in Sartorius score after one infusion (week 2, P < 0.01), and 70% improvement after three infusions (week 14, P < 0.01). Time to relapse following cessation of therapy ranged from 6 weeks to 4 months. Further studies examining the efficacy of infliximab and its effect on the course of the disease, particularly relating to long-term management, are required. [source] | ||||||||||