Tuberculin Skin Tests versus Interferon-Gamma Release Assays in Tuberculosis Screening among Immigrant Visa Applicants

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Tuberc Res Treat
• Personal Author:
  Chuke, Stella O. ; Yen, Nguyen Thi Ngoc ; Laserson, Kayla F. ; Phuoc, Nguyen Huu ; Trinh, Nguyen An ; Nhung, Duong Thi Cam ; Mai, Vo Thi Chi ; Qui, An Dang ; Hai, Hoang Hoa ; Loan, Le Thien Huong ; Jones, Warren G. ; Whitworth, William C. ; Shah, J. Jina ; Painter, John A. ; Mazurek, Gerald H. ; Maloney, Susan A.
• Description:
  Objective. Use of tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) and interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs) as part of tuberculosis (TB) screening among immigrants from high TB-burden countries has not been fully evaluated. Methods. Prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (MTBI) based on TST, or the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (QFT-G), was determined among immigrant applicants in Vietnam bound for the United States (US); factors associated with test results and discordance were assessed; predictive values of TST and QFT-G for identifying chest radiographs (CXRs) consistent with TB were calculated. Results. Of 1,246 immigrant visa applicants studied, 57.9% were TST positive, 28.3% were QFT-G positive, and test agreement was 59.4%. Increasing age was associated with positive TST results, positive QFT-G results, TST-positive but QFT-G-negative discordance, and abnormal CXRs consistent with TB. Positive predictive values of TST and QFT-G for an abnormal CXR were 25.9% and 25.6%, respectively. Conclusion. The estimated prevalence of MTBI among US-bound visa applicants in Vietnam based on TST was twice that based on QFT-G, and 14 times higher than a TST-based estimate of MTBI prevalence reported for the general US population in 2000. QFT-G was not better than TST at predicting abnormal CXRs consistent with TB.
• Subjects:
  Research Article
• Source:
  Tuberc Res Treat. 2014; 2014.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  2014
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:4a34aada8b6b54476c4de3aae259f0dd9a56d8d6d7f264ed59978e79d8ac2f49
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/27693/cdc_27693_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 620.77 KB ]