Risk assessment of tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients: A TBNET study

M. Sester, F. Van Leth, J. Bruchfeld, D. Bumbacea, D.M. Cirillo, A.G. Dilektasli, J. Domínguez, R. Duarte, M. Ernst, F.O. Eyuboglu, I. Gerogianni, E. Girardi, D. Goletti, J.-P. Janssens, I. Julander, B. Lange, I. Latorre, M. Losi, R. Markova, A. MatteelliH. Milburn, P. Ravn, T. Scholman, P.M. Soccal, M. Straub, D. Wagner, T. Wolf, A. Yalcin, C. Lange, TBNET

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Copyright © 2014 by the American Thoracic Society.Rationale: In the absence of active tuberculosis, a positive tuberculin skin test (TST) or interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) result defines latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, although test results may vary depending on immunodeficiency. Objectives: This study compared the performance of TST and IGRAs in five different groups of immunocompromised patients, and evaluated their ability to identify those at risk for development of tuberculosis. Methods: Immunocompromised patients with HIV infection, chronic renal failure, rheumatoid arthritis, solid-organ or stem-cell transplantation, and healthy control subjects were evaluated head-to-head by the TST, QuantiFERON-TB-Gold in-tube test (ELISA), and T-SPOT.TB test (enzyme-linked immunospot) at 17 centers in 11 European countries. Development of tuberculosis was assessed during follow-up. Measurements and Main Results: Frequencies of positive test results varied from 8.7 to 15.9% in HIV infection (n = 768), 25.3 to 30.6% in chronic renal failure (n = 270), 25.0% to 37.2% in rheumatoid arthritis (n = 199), 9.0 to 20.0% in solid-organ transplant recipients (n = 197), 0% to 5.8% in stem-cell transplant recipients (n = 103), and 11.2 to 15.2% in immunocompetent control subjects (n = 211). Eleven patients (10 with HIV infection and one solid-organ transplant recipient) developed tuberculosis during a median follow-up of 1.8 (interquartile range, 0.2-3.0) years. Six of the 11 patients had a negative or indeterminate test result in all three tests at the time of screening. Tuberculosis incidence was generally low, but higher in HIV-infected individuals with a positive TST (3.25 cases per 100 person-years) than with a positive ELISA (1.31 cases per 100 person-years) or enzyme-linked immunospot result (1.78 cases per 100 person-years). No cases of tuberculosis occurred in patients who received preventive chemotherapy. Conclusions: Among immunocompromised patients evaluated in this study, progression toward tuberculosis was highest in HIV-infected individuals and was poorly predicted by TST or IGRAs. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 00707317).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1168-1176
JournalAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Volume190
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2014
Externally publishedYes

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