Use of new TB test in children should be limited

Abstract

A new diagnostic test called the "Quanti FERON - TB Gold test" for detection of tuberculosis infection has been introduced. Quanti FERON - TB Gold represents a significant advances and has some potential advantages compared to the tuberculin skin test (TST). OFT-G may be used in all circumstances in which TST is currently used including contact investigations and sequential-testing surveillance programs for infection control. The QFT-G test detects the release of interferon gamma. [IFN-g] in fresh heperinized whole blood when it is incubated with the synthetic peptides representing two proteins present in Myobacterium tuberculosis: early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10). The QFT-test kids include a positive (phytohemagglutinin) and negative (saline) control. The amount of antigen-specific IFN-g release is determined by subtracting the amount in the negative control from the amount in the ESAT-6 CFP-10 or positive control. Special software computes the corrected amounts and gives guidelines for the interpretations of the results. (excerpt)