Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 3.0

Detecting Latent Tuberculosis Infection Prior to Kidney Transplantation in a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia: Comparison of the T-SPOT.TB Test and Tuberculin Test

Hoda Abdel Hadi Hassan, Mahmoud Shorman, Abdel Rahman E. l. Housawi, Mohamed Y. Elsammak

Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 116–127 · Published 5 Mar 2013

10.9734/BMRJ/2013/2926

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major worldwide public health problem with over 8.8 million newly diagnosed cases in 2010. Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are on hemodialysis (HD) have a significantly higher incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection or disease than healthy individuals. Most cases of active tuberculosis (TB) in patients with ESRD are due to the reactivation of a latent infection, and this patient group is at roughly 10- to 25-fold higher risk for reactivating TB infection than the general population. Candidates for solid organ transplantation are routinely screened for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). In this study we aimed to compare Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) with T-SPOT.TB, for the detection of LTBI in candidates for kidney transplantation. Methods: Prospective study of 133 HD Patients who did not have a diagnosis of active TB diseases or LTBI previously referred, through a 5-month period, to our institutions. Forty four kidney donors without evidence of renal insufficiency or immunocompromising conditions by medical history served as control group. All patients were tested with tuberculin (TST), and T-Spot.TB and the results were compared. Results: In donors, the concordance between the T-SPOT and the TST was moderate (90.9 %, к=0.46). Forty of 44 donors (90.9%) had concordance results between the T-Spot TB and TST.In hemodialysis patients, the concordance between the T-SPOT.TB and the TST was poor (60.15 %, к=0.07). Fifty three of 133 patients (40%) had discordant results between the T-SPOT.TB and TST. Of these, 13 patients had a positive TST but negative T-SPOT.TB and 40 had a positive T-SPOT.TB but a negative TST. Conclusion: Our data strongly argue against the use of TST in screening of LTBI in HD patients. T-SPOT.TB test in dialysis patients correlated better than TST with the risk of TB infection (e.g. increased age and low body mass index). It is a more reliable and powerful diagnostic tool than TST. However, further studies should be carried out to determine the tests with higher sensitivity and most permitted specificity.

T spot test kidney transplantation tuberculin test

References (49)

  1. 1 Infection in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients [DOI]
  2. 2 Targeted Tuberculin Testing and Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection [DOI]
  3. 3 Interferon-γ assays in the immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis: a systematic review [DOI]
  4. 4 Recurrence of hepatitis C virus after loss of virus-specific CD4+ T-cell response in acute hepatitis C [DOI]
  5. 5 Possible mechanism involving T-lymphocyte response to non-structural protein 3 in viral clearance in acute hepatitis C virus infection [DOI]
  6. 6 Rapid Effector Function in CD8+ Memory T Cells [DOI]
  7. 7 LTBI: latent tuberculosis infection or lasting immune responses to M. tuberculosis ? A TBNET consensus statement [DOI]
  8. 8 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Solid‐Organ Transplant Recipients: Impact and Implications for Management [DOI]
  9. 9 Discrepancy Between the Tuberculin Skin Test and the Whole-Blood Interferon γ Assay for the Diagnosis of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in an Intermediate Tuberculosis-Burden Country [DOI]
  10. 10 Rapid Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection by Enumeration of Antigen-specific T Cells [DOI]
  11. 11 Direct Ex Vivo Analysis of Antigen-Specific IFN-γ-Secreting CD4 T Cells in Mycobacterium tuberculosis -Infected Individuals: Associations with Clinical Disease State and Effect of Treatment [DOI]
  12. 12 SECTION IV: Long-term management of the transplant recipient [DOI]
  13. 13 Tuberculosis and Chronic Renal Disease [DOI]
  14. 14 Tuberculosis in patients with end-stage renal disease [DOI]
  15. 15 Cellular immune responses against hepatitis C virus: the evidence base 2002 [DOI]
  16. 16 Detecting Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Hemodialysis Patients [DOI]
  17. 17 Tuberculin and Anergy Skin Testing of Patients Receiving Long-term Hemodialysis [DOI]
  18. 18 Improving T-Cell Assays for the Diagnosis of Latent TB Infection: Potential of a Diagnostic Test Based on IP-10 [DOI]
  19. 19 Indeterminate results of QuantiFERON TB-2G test performed in routine clinical practice [DOI]
  20. 20 Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Dialysis Patients [DOI]
  21. 21 The prevalence of tuberculin sensitivity and anergy in chronic renal failure in an endemic area: tuberculin test and the risk of post-transplant tuberculosis [DOI]
  22. 22 Interferon-γ Release Assays for Diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Renal Dialysis Patients [DOI]
  23. 23 Diagnostic Usefulness of a T-cell-based Assay for Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in Immunocompromised Patients [DOI]
  24. 24 Interferon-gamma release assays versus tuberculin skin testing for detection of latent tuberculosis in chronic haemodialysis patients [DOI]
  25. 25 The value of tuberculin skin testing in haemodialysis patients [DOI]
  26. 26 Tests for Latent Tuberculosis in People With ESRD: A Systematic Review [DOI]
  27. 27 Comparison of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test with the tuberculin skin test for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in hemodialysis patients [DOI]
  28. 28 High Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Dialysis Patients Using the Interferon-γ Release Assay and Tuberculin Skin Test [DOI]
  29. 29 Mycobacteriosis in Patients With Chronic Renal Failure [DOI]
  30. 30 Risk of tuberculosis in dialysis patients: a population-based study.
  31. 31 Contribution of CD8+T Cells to Gamma Interferon Production in Human Tuberculosis [DOI]
  32. 32 Tuberculosis in end‐stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis [DOI]
  33. 33 Tuberculosis in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease Undergoing Dialysis in an Endemic Region of Turkey [DOI]
  34. 34 Risk factors for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in US chronic dialysis patients [DOI]
  35. 35 Diagnostic usefulness of a T cell-based assay for latent tuberculosis infection in kidney transplant candidates before transplantation [DOI]
  36. 36 Comparison of Tuberculin Skin Testing and T-SPOT.TB for Diagnosis of Latent and Active Tuberculosis [DOI]
  37. 37 Diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection in haemodialysis patients: T-cell based assay (T-SPOT.TB) or tuberculin skin test? [DOI]
  38. 38 Value of the Tuberculin Skin Test in Screening for Tuberculosis in Dialysis Patients [DOI]
  39. 39 The Prevalence and the Characteristics of Tuberculosis Patients Undergoing Chronic Dialysis Treatment: Experience of a Dialysis Center in Southeast Turkey [DOI]
  40. 40 The spectrum of tuberculosis in dialysis patients [DOI]
  41. 41 Tuberculin Skin Test and Anergy in Dialysis Patients of a Tuberculosis-Endemic Area [DOI]
  42. 42 Influence of dialysis with polyamide vs haemophan haemodialysis on monokines and complement activation during a 4-month long-term study [DOI]
  43. 43 The effect of hepatotropic virus (HBV-HCV) infections on tuberculin skin test in patients with cirrhosis [DOI]
  44. 44 Tuberculosis and chronic renal disease.
  45. 45 Tuberculin Testing of Kidney Allograft Recipients and Donors Before Transplantation [DOI]
  46. 46 European Best Practice Guidelines for Renal Transplantation (part 1).
  47. 47 Spotting latent infection: the path to better tuberculosis control [DOI]
  48. 48 Interferon-γ Assays for Tuberculosis [DOI]
  49. 49 Interferon gamma assays for tuberculosis [DOI]

Cited by 13

Pre-employment screening of latent tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers using tuberculin skin test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold test at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia

Mohamed El-Helaly, Waseem Khan, Aiman El-Saed · Journal of Infection and Public Health · 2014

Screening of latent tuberculosis infection among health care workers working in Hajj pilgrimage area in Saudi Arabia, using interferon gamma release assay and tuberculin skin test

Zakeya A. Bukhary, Soliman M. Amer, Magdy M. Emara · Annals of Saudi Medicine · 2018

The prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in patients with chronic kidney disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ayinalem Alemu, Zebenay Workneh Bitew, Getu Diriba · Heliyon · 2023

Interferon Gamma Release Assay versus Tuberculin Skin Testing among Healthcare Workers of Highly Diverse Origin in a Moderate Tuberculosis Burden Country

Sahal Al Hajoj, Bright Varghese, Alria Datijan · PLOS ONE · 2016

Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Patients Undergoing Regular Hemodialysis in Disenfranchised Communities: A Multicenter Study during COVID-19 Pandemic

Mohamad Bachar Ismail, Nesrine Zarriaa, Marwan Osman · Medicina · 2023

Showing 5 of 13 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

48

Page views

0

PDF downloads

29

Outbound clicks

13

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.