Menoufia Medical Journal

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2014  |  Volume : 27  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 269--273

Diagnostic value of the QuantiFERON-TB gold assay (T-SPOT.TB test) in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis after a full course of antituberculous therapy


Osama Faheem Mansour, Nourane Yehia Azab, Rana Helmy El-Helbawy, Emad Mohamed Eed, Shireen Mahmoud El-Sayed 
 Department of Chest Medicine, Menofiya University, Menofiya, Egypt

Correspondence Address:
Shireen Mahmoud El-Sayed
MD, Mogama Elmahakemst, 51, Mansoura, Daqahliya
Egypt

Objectives The study aims to clarify the effectiveness of the T-SPOT.TB test as a method of evaluation of antituberculous (anti-TB) treatment. Background Among the various diagnostic tools of TB disease, the T-SPOT.TB test is the most advanced. It depends on the detection of interferon-g released from sensitized T cells when exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in vitro. Materials and methods The T-SPOT.TB test was carried out for two groups of individuals; the first group included 25 patients diagnosed previously by a positive culture of M. tuberculosis after a full course of anti-TB treatment. The second group included 10 healthy individuals. Results Twenty-one patients (84%) of the first group had a positive T-SPOT.TB test, whereas only four patients (16%) had a negative T-SPOT.TB test. Of the 23 patients with a negative result by culture and microscopy, 19 (82.6%) had a positive T-SPOT.TB test. Conclusion The T-SPOT.TB test is a weak test for use during treatment monitoring. As conversion of IGRA results might be later than smear conversion results of clinical specimens, we should not consider the IGRA test as a surrogate marker of a cure or a predictor of disease relapse.


How to cite this article:
Mansour OF, Azab NY, El-Helbawy RH, Eed EM, El-Sayed SM. Diagnostic value of the QuantiFERON-TB gold assay (T-SPOT.TB test) in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis after a full course of antituberculous therapy.Menoufia Med J 2014;27:269-273


How to cite this URL:
Mansour OF, Azab NY, El-Helbawy RH, Eed EM, El-Sayed SM. Diagnostic value of the QuantiFERON-TB gold assay (T-SPOT.TB test) in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis after a full course of antituberculous therapy. Menoufia Med J [serial online] 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 29 ];27:269-273
Available from: http://www.mmj.eg.net/article.asp?issn=1110-2098;year=2014;volume=27;issue=2;spage=269;epage=273;aulast=Mansour;type=0