Haoran Zhang1, Henan Xin1, Dakuan Wang2, Shouguo Pan2, Zisen Liu2, Xuefang Cao1, Jinxing Wang3, Xiangwei Li1, Boxuan Feng1, Mufei Li1, Qianting Yang4, Mingxia Zhang4, Qi Jin1, Lei Gao5. 1. NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, and Center for Tuberculosis Research, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, P.R. China. 2. Zhongmu County Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Zhongmu 451450, China. 3. Zhongmu County Health Commission, Zhongmu 451450, China. 4. Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis & Treatment of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen 518112, China. 5. NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, and Center for Tuberculosis Research, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, P.R. China. Electronic address: gaolei@ipbcams.ac.cn.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection test among registered village doctors from China. METHODS: MTB infection of the registered village doctors in Zhongmu County were tested using QFT-Plus and two other interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) in parallel: QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) and T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT). Retests were carried out for baseline positives at 3 and 6 months later, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 616 village doctors were included in the baseline examination. The positivity of QFT, QFT-Plus and T-SPOT was 27.91% (168/602), 31.22% (187/599) and 27.70% (169/610), respectively. The concordance between QFT and QFT-Plus was 94.81% (Kappa coefficient: 0.87) and between T-SPOT and QFT-Plus was 88.93% (Kappa coefficient: 0.73). Reversions were frequently observed for all three assays. With respect to QFT-Plus, the quantitative results of reversions in the serial testing were mostly distributed in an "uncertain range" zone (0.2-0.7 IU/mL). Similar patterns of distribution were observed for QFT and T-SPOT as well. CONCLUSION: Village doctors should gain more attention as an at-risk group for TB infection control in rural China. Our results support, by means of serial testing, a good agreement between QFT-Plus and QFT in Chinese population.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection test among registered village doctors from China. METHODS: MTB infection of the registered village doctors in Zhongmu County were tested using QFT-Plus and two other interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) in parallel: QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) and T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT). Retests were carried out for baseline positives at 3 and 6 months later, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 616 village doctors were included in the baseline examination. The positivity of QFT, QFT-Plus and T-SPOT was 27.91% (168/602), 31.22% (187/599) and 27.70% (169/610), respectively. The concordance between QFT and QFT-Plus was 94.81% (Kappa coefficient: 0.87) and between T-SPOT and QFT-Plus was 88.93% (Kappa coefficient: 0.73). Reversions were frequently observed for all three assays. With respect to QFT-Plus, the quantitative results of reversions in the serial testing were mostly distributed in an "uncertain range" zone (0.2-0.7 IU/mL). Similar patterns of distribution were observed for QFT and T-SPOT as well. CONCLUSION: Village doctors should gain more attention as an at-risk group for TB infection control in rural China. Our results support, by means of serial testing, a good agreement between QFT-Plus and QFT in Chinese population.
Authors: Cheleka A M Mpande; Pia Steigler; Tessa Lloyd; Virginie Rozot; Boitumelo Mosito; Constance Schreuder; Timothy D Reid; Nicole Bilek; Morten Ruhwald; Jason R Andrews; Mark Hatherill; Francesca Little; Thomas J Scriba; Elisa Nemes Journal: Front Immunol Date: 2021-08-30 Impact factor: 7.561