Volume 77, Number 9
Interferon-gamma-release assays:
Better than tuberculin skin testing?
1. In which of the following situations was the use of interferon-gamma-release assays appropriate?
- A 45-year-old patient was admitted for pneumonia and diagnosed with active tuberculosis. The hospital’s infection control department uses the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test to determine which health care workers were exposed.
- A 60-year-old dialysis technician undergoes yearly QFT-GIT testing at his hospital, with a negative result at baseline. He converted from a negative to a positive test and received isoniazid therapy for latent tuberculosis.
- A 32-year-old man just returned from a 4-week vacation to Mexico visiting family and friends. He was seen by his primary care doctor for generalized lymphadenopathy with normal chest radiograph. A QFT-GIT test was done as part of the workup.
- All of the above
