Utility of the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube assay for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in Moroccan children

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease 2016-12, Vol.20 (12), p.1639
• Main Authors: El Azbaoui, S, Sabri, A, Ouraini, S, Hassani, A, Asermouh, A, Agadr, A, Abilkassem, R, Dini, N, Kmari, M, Akhaddar, A, Laktati, Z, Aieche, S, El Hafidi, N, Ben Brahim, F, Bousfiha, A A, Ailal, F, Deswarte, C, Schurr, E, Amar, L, Bustamante, J, Boisson-Dupuis, S, Casanova, J L, Abel, L, El Baghdadi, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1815-7920

The utility of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs), such as the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test, in diagnosing active tuberculosis (TB) in children is unclear and depends on the epidemiological setting. To evaluate the performance of QFT-GIT for TB diagnosis in children living in Morocco, an intermediate TB incidence country with high bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination coverage. We prospectively recruited 109 Moroccan children hospitalised for clinically suspected TB, all of whom were tested using QFT-GIT. For 81 of the 109 children, the final diagnosis was TB. The remaining 28 children did not have TB. QFT-GIT had a sensitivity of 66% (95%CI 52-77) for the diagnosis of TB, and a specificity of 100% (95%CI 88-100). The tuberculin skin test (TST) had lower sensitivity, at 46% (95%CI 33-60), and its concordance with QFT-GIT was limited (69%). Combining QFT-GIT and TST results increased sensitivity to 83% (95%CI 69-92). In epidemiological settings such as those found in Morocco, QFT-GIT is more sensitive than the TST for active TB diagnosis in children. Combining the TST and QFT-GIT would be useful for the diagnosis of active TB in children, in combination with clinical, radiological and laboratory data.