the largest to assess QFT performance in diagnosing LTBI in children in the United States, an area with low levels of endemic tuberculosis.found that
QFT is highly specific, is easy to perform, and requires only 1 visit. For situations such as known recent exposure, it seems to be as sensitive as the TST, at least for children >2 years of age.This is a significant event as we are now seeing evidence of official acceptance of QFT within a significant population
..if QFT were to be used as the diagnostic test for LTBI in children and treatment decisions were based on its results alone, as is the case now for adults and is also the practice for children in some health departments, including that in New York City..
For now the only group that needs further study is that of infants less than 2 years of age.
Compare this with the misery of T-Spot (which is chasing sensitivity at the expense of sensitivity);
For young children presenting in a community setting after exposure to tuberculosis or with symptoms suggesting tuberculosis, T-SPOT.TB cannot be used to exclude active disease. The sensitivity of this assay may be impaired for very young children.
