KMID : 0383820070620040270
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Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2007 Volume.62 No. 4 p.270 ~ p.275
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Tuberculin Skin Test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Assay before and after Treatment for Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Health Care Workers in Local Tertiary Hospital
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Lee Seung-Jun
Kim Hyeon-Sik Ma Jung-Eun Lee Sang-Min Ham Hyun-Seok Cho Yu-Ji Jeong Yi-Yeong Kim Ho-Cheol Lee Jong-Deok Kim Sun-Joo Hwang Young-Sil
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Abstract
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Background: The QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay and tuberculin skin test (TST) have been useful test for diagnosing latent tuberculosis infections (LTBI). However, there are few reports on the efficacy of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay and TST in evaluating the response after the treatment of LTBI. This study examined the changes in the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay before and after a treatment for latent tuberculosis in health care workers (HCWs) at a local tertiary hospital.
Methods: A cohort of volunteers working as nurses and doctors who underwent a TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay was established. The volunteers positive for the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay had been treated with 3 months of isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RFP). After completing treatment, the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay were repeated.
Results: Of the 48 participants (14 doctors, 34 nurses, M: F=11:37, mean age=29.9+/-5.5 years, mean employment period=74.9+/-64.3 months), 19 (39.6%) tested positive to the TST (mean induration=19.1+/-9.7 mm) and 8 (16.7%) were QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay. Among them, one had active pulmonary tuberculosis. Seven volunteers were consistently positive to both the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay after being medicated with INH and RFP for 3 months.
Conclusion: TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay are unsuitable for evaluating the treatment response of LTBI because they were consistently positive both before and after the anti-tuberculosis medication.
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KEYWORD
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Latent Tuberculosis Infection(LTBI), Treatment, Tuberculin Skin Test(TST), QuantiFERON-TB Gold Assay, Health Care Workers
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