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. 2008 Jun;15(6):1028-30.
doi: 10.1128/CVI.00026-08. Epub 2008 Apr 9.

Enhancement of diagnostic efficiency by a gamma interferon release assay for pulmonary tuberculosis

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Enhancement of diagnostic efficiency by a gamma interferon release assay for pulmonary tuberculosis

Kelly Aparecida Kanunfre et al. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the use of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay as an aid in the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Brazilian patients. Using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the cutoff was adjusted to >or=0.20 IU/ml. The sensitivity increased to 86%, with 100% specificity. All TB patients with negative sputum smear microscopy and negative culture results were positive using this test.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Individual response of IFN-γ released after stimulation with ESAT-6 and CFP-10 antigens. (a) IFN-γ responses in 29 patients with active pulmonary TB. IFN-γ responses in three patients negative by conventional microbiological tests (b) and in 23 healthy subjects (c). The dotted line represents the cutoff of 0.35 IU/ml recommended by the manufacturer; the dashed line represents the cutoff of 0.20 IU/ml defined in our laboratory by ROC curve analysis. *, data for the antigen (ESAT-6 or CFP-10).

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