Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>

Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) have gained attention for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) due to their higher specificity compared to the tuberculin skin test (TST). However, the IGRA’s performance varies across different populations. This study evaluated the diagnostic...

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Main Authors: Richard Kutame, Gifty Boateng, Yaw Adusi-Poku, Felix Sorvor, Lorreta Antwi, Florence Agyemang-Bioh, Bright Ayensu, Vincent Gyau-Boateng, Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Diagnostics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/19/2130
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author Richard Kutame
Gifty Boateng
Yaw Adusi-Poku
Felix Sorvor
Lorreta Antwi
Florence Agyemang-Bioh
Bright Ayensu
Vincent Gyau-Boateng
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
author_facet Richard Kutame
Gifty Boateng
Yaw Adusi-Poku
Felix Sorvor
Lorreta Antwi
Florence Agyemang-Bioh
Bright Ayensu
Vincent Gyau-Boateng
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
author_sort Richard Kutame
collection DOAJ
description Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) have gained attention for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) due to their higher specificity compared to the tuberculin skin test (TST). However, the IGRA’s performance varies across different populations. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of three IGRAs (TBF-FIA, TBF-ELISA, and QFT-Plus) in Ghana, comparing them among individuals exposed and unexposed to MTB infection. Conducted in TB clinics across three regions, this prospective and cross-sectional study included healthy individuals with no known TB exposure (unexposed group) and patients with confirmed active TB (exposed group). Blood samples were tested using all three assays as per the manufacturers’ guidelines. The TBF-ELISA showed 3.4% higher sensitivity but 4.6% lower specificity compared to QFT-Plus. The TBF-FIA had sensitivity of 78.5–87.3% and specificity of 82.9–90.0%. These findings indicate that while the three IGRAs offer similar diagnostic accuracy, the variations in specificity and limited data on assays like TBF-FIA require further investigation.
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spelling doaj-art-e5daba59e9e948f7a55fa912088209f72025-08-20T01:47:44ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182024-09-011419213010.3390/diagnostics14192130Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>Richard Kutame0Gifty Boateng1Yaw Adusi-Poku2Felix Sorvor3Lorreta Antwi4Florence Agyemang-Bioh5Bright Ayensu6Vincent Gyau-Boateng7Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe8National Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Harley Street, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box GP300, GhanaNational Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Harley Street, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box GP300, GhanaNational TB Control Programme, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box KB493, GhanaNational TB Control Programme, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box KB493, GhanaNational Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Harley Street, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box GP300, GhanaNational Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Harley Street, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box GP300, GhanaNational Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Harley Street, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box GP300, GhanaNational Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Harley Street, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra P.O. Box GP300, GhanaPublic Health Division, Ghana Health Service, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, P.M.B. Ministries, Accra P.O. Box MB582, GhanaInterferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) have gained attention for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) due to their higher specificity compared to the tuberculin skin test (TST). However, the IGRA’s performance varies across different populations. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of three IGRAs (TBF-FIA, TBF-ELISA, and QFT-Plus) in Ghana, comparing them among individuals exposed and unexposed to MTB infection. Conducted in TB clinics across three regions, this prospective and cross-sectional study included healthy individuals with no known TB exposure (unexposed group) and patients with confirmed active TB (exposed group). Blood samples were tested using all three assays as per the manufacturers’ guidelines. The TBF-ELISA showed 3.4% higher sensitivity but 4.6% lower specificity compared to QFT-Plus. The TBF-FIA had sensitivity of 78.5–87.3% and specificity of 82.9–90.0%. These findings indicate that while the three IGRAs offer similar diagnostic accuracy, the variations in specificity and limited data on assays like TBF-FIA require further investigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/19/2130IGRAinterferon gammaevaluationtuberculosisdiagnosis<i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
spellingShingle Richard Kutame
Gifty Boateng
Yaw Adusi-Poku
Felix Sorvor
Lorreta Antwi
Florence Agyemang-Bioh
Bright Ayensu
Vincent Gyau-Boateng
Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
Diagnostics
IGRA
interferon gamma
evaluation
tuberculosis
diagnosis
<i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
title Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
title_full Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
title_fullStr Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
title_short Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance of Three Commercial Interferon-Gamma Release Assays for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
title_sort evaluation of diagnostic performance of three commercial interferon gamma release assays for i mycobacterium tuberculosis i
topic IGRA
interferon gamma
evaluation
tuberculosis
diagnosis
<i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/19/2130
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