VALUE OF QUANTIFERON GOLD IN TUBE TEST IN DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

T uberculosis is a common and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by mycobacteria usually mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis typically attacks the lung, but can also affect other parts of the body. Tuberculosis is a leading cause of worldwide preventable morbidity and mortality from an infectious agent. A definite diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion can be difficult to make because of low sensitivity and / or specificity of noninvasive traditional diagnostic tools. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold IN TUBE test is a whole-blood test for use as an aid in diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, including latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and tuberculosis (TB) disease.This test was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2007. Blood samples are mixed with antigens (substances that can produce an immune response) and controls.The antigens include mixtures of synthetic peptides representingM. tuberculosis proteins, (ESAT-6 , CFP-10, TB7.7). After incubation of the blood with antigens for 16 to 24 hours, the amount of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is measured.