Vinton study into QFT and HCWs

Dr P Vinton et al (University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine and the Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Infectious Diseases, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia) studied the results of both the TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube in 358 HCWs from 5 hospitals in Melbourne and concluded:

in a population of healthcare staff with a low prevalence of TB and a significant rate of BCG vaccination, a positive QFT-in tube test result was associated with the presence of known risk factors for TB exposure, whereas a positive TST result was more strongly associated with a prior history of BCG vaccination.

Importantly the study was recently published in the March 2009 edition of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology