Article
Microbiology
Yuzhen Xu, Qingluan Yang, Jingyu Zhou, Feiran Zhou, Yufan Hezhang, Yan Gao, Lingyun Shao, Jichan Shi, Qiaoling Ruan, Wenhong Zhang
Summary: This study evaluates the performance of QFT-GIT and QFT-Plus in diagnosing M. tuberculosis infection in immunocompromised patients, and finds that QFT-Plus may detect more latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) than QFT-GIT does in patients receiving long-term immunosuppressant therapy. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting the different diagnostic accuracies of QFT-GIT and QFT-Plus in different subpopulations of patients. It suggests that selecting a test with better performance, particularly in high-risk patients, may help improve the management of tuberculosis. The study is also significant for the diagnosis of LTBI.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Sandra Perez-Recio, Natalia Pallares, Maria D. Grijota-Camino, Adrian Sanchez-Montalva, Laura Barcia, Silvia Campos-Gutierrez, Virginia Pomar, Ramon Rabunal-Rey, Maria Elvira Balcells, Deniz Gazel, Natalia Montiel, Diego Vicente, Ivana Goic-Barisic, Thomas Schon, Jakob Paues, Ivana Marekovic, Juana Cacho-Calvo, Aleksandra Barac, Delia Goletti, Mercedes Garcia-Gasalla, Jose Maria Barcala, Maria Teresa Tortola, Luis Anibarro, Isabel Suarez-Toste, Esther Moga, Maria J. Gude-Gonzalez, Rodrigo Naves, Tekin Karsligil, Tania Martin-Penaranda, Goran Stevanovic, Matilde Trigo, Veronica Rubio, Ilkay Karaoglan, Nazan Bayram, Fernando Alcaide, Cristian Tebe, Miguel Santin
Summary: The study investigated the use of the difference between TB2 and TB1 values in the QuantiFERON-TB gold plus test as a surrogate marker for recent tuberculosis exposure. The results showed that a TB2-TB1 value of >0.6 IU.ml(-1) was not associated with an increased risk of recent TB exposure. This questions the clinical potential of using this marker for identifying recently acquired TB infection.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Danilo Buonsenso, James A. Seddon, Susanna Esposito, Lucia Barcellini
Summary: This review summarizes studies on the performance of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection in children. The agreement between QFT-Plus and tuberculin skin test (TST) varied from no agreement to almost perfect agreement. The sensitivity of QFT-Plus in detecting microbiologically confirmed TB disease ranged from 54.5% to 87.3%, with no difference based on age.
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sung Soo Ahn, Hyung Woo Kim, Younhee Park
Summary: The study compared the results of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold PLUS (QFT-PLUS) tests in patients with rheumatic diseases, finding that indeterminate results were significantly higher in patients compared to healthy controls. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that lymphocyte count and albumin level were predictive factors for indeterminate results.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Sheng-Wei Pan, Donald G. Catanzaro, Marva Seifert, Rehan R. Syed, Naomi Hillery, Mei-Lin Ho, Valeriu Crudu, Elena Tudor, Nelly Ciobanu, Alexandru Codreanu, Antonino Catanzaro, Timothy C. Rodwell
Summary: The severity of disease in index TB patients and the presence of bilateral lung disease were associated with positive QFT-Plus results and strong CD8 responses in contacts. A combination of TB1 and TB2 IFN-gamma responses predicted a 19-fold increased risk for stringent conversion in contacts over 6-12 months.
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY IMMUNOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zirwatul Adilah Aziz, Noorliza Mohamad Noordin, Wan Mazlina Wan Mohd, Mohd Amin Kasim
Summary: Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis infection (TBI) are crucial for tuberculosis elimination. A new digital lateral flow assay, QIAreach QuantiFERON-TB (QIAreach QFT), showed high agreement with QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) assay in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and overall agreement. QIAreach QFT could serve as an accurate and reliable point-of-need test for TB infection diagnosis, especially in decentralized settings with limited laboratory expertise and infrastructure.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
In Young Yoo, Jaewoong Lee, Ae Ran Choi, Yoon Hee Jun, Hwa Young Lee, Ji Young Kang, Yeon-Joon Park
Summary: The recent guideline from American Thoracic Society advises against interferon-gamma-release assay for individuals with low risk of TB, recommending retesting those with initially positive results. A study comparing TBF and QFT-Plus assays in HCWs and TB patients found TBF had higher positivity rate in both groups and substantial agreement with QFT-Plus. High negative conversion rate was observed in HCWs with initial TB Ag-nil result <1.0.
Article
Microbiology
Florentina Dumitrescu, Catalina-Gabriela Pisoschi, Vlad Padureanu, Andreea Cristina Stoian, Livia Dragonu, Lucian Giubelan
Summary: A 31-year-old HIV-infected patient was hospitalized for dyspnea, cough with mucopurulent sputum, and asthenia in July 2021. He was diagnosed with Serratia liquefaciens pneumonia and acute respiratory failure. Despite initial unfavorable outcomes, initiation of antituberculosis therapy led to significant improvement and discharge.
Article
Immunology
Xiaojiang Hu, Hongqi Zhang, Yanbin Li, Guang Zhang, Bo Tang, Dongcheng Xu, Mingxing Tang, Chaofeng Guo, Shaohua Liu, Qile Gao
Summary: Preoperative differential diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis is important for clinical management. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test has high sensitivity but low specificity for this diagnosis. The diagnostic efficacy of QFT-GIT can be improved with a new threshold. The intensity of QFT-GIT findings may be related to the duration of the patient's disease.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Respiratory System
Danilo Buonsenso, Antoni Noguera-Julian, Rossana Moroni, Angel Hernandez-Bartolome, Nora Fritschi, Laura Lancella, Laura Cursi, Aleix Soler-Garcia, Renate Krueger, Cornelia Feiterna-Sperling, Michela Sali, Andrea Lo Vecchio, Sara Scarano, Alicia Hernanz Lobo, Maria Espiau, Antonio Soriano-Arandes, Benhur Sirvan Cetin, Folke Brinkmann, Iveta Ozere, Fernando Baquero-Artigao, Maria Tsolia, Milheiro Tiago Silva, Matilde Bustillo-Alonso, Andrea Martin Nalda, Margherita Mancini, Anna Starshinova, Nicole Ritz, Svetlana Velizarova, Laura Ferreras-Antolin, Florian Goetzinger, Olga Bilogortseva, Vira Chechenyeva, Marc Tebruegge, Begona Santiago-Garcia
Summary: The latest generation IGRA assay, QFT-Plus, does not perform better than previous generation IGRAs or the TST in children with TB disease. Tests performed worse in children with CNS and miliary TB, as well as in immunocompromised children. None of the tests evaluated had sufficiently high sensitivity to be used as a rule-out test in children with suspected TB.
Article
Microbiology
Severine Carrere-Kremer, Pratt Kolia-Diafouka, Amandine Pisoni, Karine Bollore, Marianne Peries, Sylvain Godreuil, Arnaud Bourdin, Philippe Van de Perre, Edouard Tuaillon
Summary: This study analyzed the relationship between the results of the QuantiFERON Gold Plus assay (QFT) and cytokine patterns associated with active tuberculosis (ATB). The study found that higher levels of IFN-gamma secretion, preferential IFN-gamma response in tube 2, and lower secretion of IL-2, IP-10, and MIG were more likely to be observed in patients with ATB.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Francisco Viana Machado, Clara Morais, Sofia Santos, Ricardo Reis
Summary: The study evaluated CD8+ T-cell response as a marker for recent TB infection, showing a significant increase in CD8+ T-cell activity in patients recently exposed to TB, especially those with longer exposure time. This suggests that CD8+ T-cell activity may be a useful tool in identifying patients with recent LTBI.
RESPIRATORY MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Peng Lu, Qiao Liu, Yang Zhou, Leonardo Martinez, Wen Kong, Xiaoyan Ding, Hong Peng, Tao Zhu, Limei Zhu, Wei Lu
Summary: In this study conducted in a medium tuberculosis burden setting, there was fair agreement between tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube (QFT) overall. Participants with QFT(+) and TST(+)QFT(+) results were more likely to progress to tuberculosis compared to those with TST(-)QFT(-) results.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Laura Heireman, Peggy Bruynseels, Kim Camps, Dieter Geysels, Evelyne Huyghe, Emmanuel Andre, Natasja Van Gasse
Summary: The study compared the effectiveness of QuantiFERON-TB (R) Gold Plus and T-SPOT.TB in diagnosing tuberculosis infection, and found a high agreement in qualitative results between the two methods. However, T-SPOT.TB had a certain percentage of false negative results.
DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Chi Eun Oh, Edgar Ortiz-Brizuela, Mayara L. Bastos, Dick Menzies
Summary: The study compared QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) with QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) in terms of sensitivity and specificity in patients with active tuberculosis and healthy individuals at low risk of LTBI, showing no significant differences between the two tests. The agreement and reproducibility of QFT-Plus were similar to QFT-GIT, indicating the need for further research on its performance in immunocompromised patients and children.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Review
Pediatrics
Petra Zimmermann, Laure F. Pittet, Adam Finn, Andrew J. Pollard, Nigel Curtis
Summary: The debate over whether all children under 12 should be vaccinated against COVID-19 continues, with considerations including the relatively low risk of acute COVID-19 in children and the complexity of weighing the risks and benefits of vaccination. Other factors to consider include protection from long-term consequences, population-level impacts, vaccine supply, cost, and avoiding quarantine measures. Ongoing evaluation is needed due to the emergence of new variants of concern.
ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Paola Villanueva, Ushma Wadia, Nigel Crawford, Nicole L. Messina, Tobias R. Kollmann, Michaela Lucas, Laurens Manning, Peter Richmond, Laure F. Pittet, Nigel Curtis
Summary: The frequency and types of adverse events following initial vaccination and revaccination with Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vary worldwide. A randomised controlled trial (the BRACE trial) using active surveillance determined the incidence and risk factors for BCG injection site abscess and regional lymphadenopathy. Revaccination with BCG increases the risk of injection site abscess and lymphadenopathy.
Article
Pediatrics
Jolie Lawrence, Laure F. Pittet, Samar Hikmat, Eloise J. Silvester, Vanessa Clifford, Rodney Hunt, Amanda Gwee
Summary: This study aimed to determine the safety of early intravenous-to-oral antibiotic switch and identify risk factors for bacteraemia with UTIs. The results showed that for young infants with non-bacteraemic UTI, short-course intravenous antibiotics for <48 hours should be considered, provided meningitis has been excluded. Treatment failure and serious complications were rare in young infants with UTI.
ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
(2022)
Review
Pediatrics
Paola Villanueva, Laure F. Pittet, Clare Nourse, Nigel Curtis
ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Alastair Weng, Nigel Curtis, Seilesh Kadambari, Kaya Gardiner, David Burgner, Amanda Gwee
Summary: This case report discusses a 20-month-old girl with Mycobacterium avium complex infection of the retropharyngeal space, and summarizes the literature on the pathogenesis and management of nontuberculous mycobacterial infections in the retropharynx.
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL
(2022)
Letter
Pathology
Vanessa Clifford, Gena Gonis, Gemma Crighton, Helen Savoia, Iain Gosbell, Andrew J. Daley
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Melissa K. Hyde, Rachel Thorpe, Barbara M. Masser, Sarah P. Kruse, Lisa H. Amir, Richard Brown, Vanessa Clifford, Laura D. Klein
Summary: This study conducted interviews with 10 mothers who were deferred from donating milk to a milk bank, and found that clear communication and providing sufficient information can protect breastfeeding relationships between mothers and their infants. Milk banks can improve their screening processes by providing information up-front and ensuring timely contact with mothers.
BREASTFEEDING MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Respiratory System
Giovanni Battista Migliori, David Dowdy, Justin T. Denholm, Lia D'Ambrosio, Rosella Centis
Summary: Tuberculosis elimination and pre-elimination were initially considered achievable in low TB incidence countries in the 1990s, but it is now clear that a significant acceleration of efforts is needed to achieve pre-elimination in the next decade. This review provides a framework for near-term progress towards TB pre-elimination, with different stages benchmarked to specific levels of TB incidence in each country. The framework allows for tailored strategies and targets to be set, and prioritizes certain activities for more rapid progress.
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Joanitah Nalunjogi, Sergio Mucching-Toscano, Jean Pierre Sibomana, Rosella Centis, Lia D'Ambrosio, Jan-Willem Alffenaar, Justin Denholm, Francois-Xavier Blanc, Sergey Borisov, Edvardas Danila, Raquel Duarte, Jose-Maria Garcia-Garcia, Delia Goletti, Catherine W. M. Ong, Adrian Rendon, Tania A. Thomas, Simon Tiberi, Martin Van den Boom, Giovanni Sotgiu, Giovanni Battista Migliori
Summary: This study aims to compare the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases, drug-resistant TB cases, and TB deaths in 2020 vs 2019 in 11 countries. The results show a decrease in TB cases and drug-resistant TB cases in most countries, except for a few. The TB mortality rate increased in most countries in 2020 compared to 2019. It is important to conduct similar studies in different settings and collect global treatment outcome data for TB/COVID-19 co-infected patients to comprehensively evaluate the medium-term impact of COVID-19 on TB services.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Nigel Curtis, ChatGPT
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Christie C. A. Noble, Nicole L. Messina, Laure F. Pittet, Nigel Curtis
Summary: BCG vaccination has potential off-target effects on nonmycobacterial infections. Trials investigating the off-target protection of BCG against COVID-19 have shown conflicting results, likely due to differences in participant characteristics, BCG vaccination variables, outcome measures, and follow-up durations. Controlling these factors will be crucial in designing future trials and intervention strategies to fully exploit the off-target effects of BCG.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Shazra Abbas, Michelle Kermode, Mohammad Dost Khan, Justin Denholm, Hamed Adetunji, Sumit Kane
Summary: This qualitative study analyzes the factors influencing patients' adherence to treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis in Pakistan. It reveals that doubts about diagnosis and treatment efficacy, drug side-effects, economic constraints, healthcare providers' attitude, and co-morbidities are reasons for non-adherence. The study argues that the existing program fails to address patient needs beyond material inputs, resulting in a lack of responsiveness and patient disengagement.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Shazra Abbas, Michelle Kermode, Mohammad Dost Khan, Justin Denholm, Hamed Adetunji, Sumit Kane
Summary: This qualitative study examines the reasons behind non-adherence to treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis in Pakistan. The study reveals that patients' doubts about diagnosis and treatment efficacy, side-effects of drugs, economic constraints, unreliable disbursements, provider attitudes, and co-morbidities are all factors contributing to non-adherence.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
J'Belle Foster, Diana Mendez, Ben J. Marais, Justin T. Denholm, Dunstan Peniyamina, Emma S. McBryde
Summary: This study conducted an audit of Papua New Guinea (PNG) nationals with presumptive tuberculosis (TB) presenting to clinics in the Torres Strait in Australia. The aim was to evaluate outcomes for PNG patients and assess the consistency and equity of decision-making regarding aeromedical evacuation. The study found that a significant number of patients were medically evacuated to Australian hospitals, while some patients were referred back to Daru General Hospital in PNG. This highlights the emergent duty of care associated with cross-border movement between Australia and PNG.
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Nicole L. Messina, Susie Germano, Rebecca McElroy, Rajeev Rudraraju, Rhian Bonnici, Laure F. Pittet, Melanie R. Neeland, Suellen Nicholson, Kanta Subbarao, Nigel Curtis
Summary: BCG vaccination has immunomodulatory effects on SARS-CoV-2 and reduces the secretion of cytokines associated with severe COVID-19. In addition, BCG vaccination promotes specific T cell immune responses and activates eosinophils.
CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
