TB Screening in Canadian Health Care Workers Using Interferon-Gamma Release Assays

Authors: Alice Zwerling, Mihaela Cojocariu, Fiona McIntosh, Filomena Pietrangelo, Marcel A. Behr, Kevin Schwartzman, Andrea Benedetti, Nandini Dendukuri, Dick Menzies, Madhukar Pai

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043014

Abstract Summary

Canadian healthcare workers showed low TB infection rates (5.7% TST, 6.2% QFT), but concerning test discordance occurred in 8.3% of cases. Most discordant results were TST-negative/QFT-positive, raising concerns about false positives and potential overtreatment when switching from skin tests to blood-based screening in low-risk populations.

Why Brain? 🧠

Study finds low TB infection rates (5.7% TST, 6.2% QFT) among Canadian healthcare workers, but high test discordance (8.3%) raises concerns about false positives and potential overtreatment when switching to newer blood tests.

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