1. Antituberculosis IgG antibodies as a marker of active Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease.
- Author
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Welch RJ, Lawless KM, and Litwin CM
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child, Preschool, Diagnostic Errors statistics & numerical data, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Middle Aged, Reagent Kits, Diagnostic, Retrospective Studies, Sensitivity and Specificity, Utah, Young Adult, Antibodies, Bacterial blood, Immunoglobulin G blood, Mycobacterium tuberculosis immunology, Tuberculosis diagnosis
- Abstract
Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis IgG antibodies may aid in the diagnosis of active M. tuberculosis disease. We studied whether anti-M. tuberculosis IgG antibodies are elevated in active M. tuberculosis disease and assessed factors contributing to false-positive and -negative results. A retrospective study of 2,150 individuals tested by the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) assay was conducted at the University of Utah, ARUP Laboratories, November 2008 to December 2010. All samples were tested with the InBios Active TbDetect antituberculosis (anti-TB) IgG antibody assay. Of 1,044 patients with a positive QFT-GIT, 59 (5.7%) were positive for M. tuberculosis antibodies. Fourteen of 1,106 (1.3%) with a negative or indeterminate QFT-GIT were positive for M. tuberculosis antibodies. M. tuberculosis antibody tests were positive in 61.5% with confirmed active M. tuberculosis disease and other mycobacterial infections. Over half of the false-negative M. tuberculosis antibody tests occurred in patients ≥ 90 years of age. False positives were seen in 12.9% of autoimmune patients. The odds ratio of being positive by the QFT-GIT and the InBios TB IgG assay increased with confirmed M. tuberculosis disease or highly suspected M. tuberculosis disease and was 86.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.4 to 218.5) in these two groups compared to patients negative by both tests. Although anti-M. tuberculosis antibodies can be detected in patients with active M. tuberculosis disease, caution should be used with patients where immunoglobulin levels may be decreased or patients with autoantibodies.
- Published
- 2012
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