April 21, 2010

First the book, then maybe a movie..?

Dr Felix RingHausen, senior physician of internal medicine and a lecturer at the University of Zurich, has written a book with the arresting title
Tuberkulose-Kontaktuntersuchung im Gesundheitswesen
Stellenwert des Interferon-¿ Release Assays QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube nach Exposition gegenüber einem mikroskopisch negativen Indexfall
Tuberculosis contact investigation in health care
Importance of the interferon-release assays, 
QuantiFERON ®-TB Gold In-Tube after exposure 
to a microscopically negative index case

Inside flap, roughly translated...

In countries with low tuberculosis (TB) incidence, both the targeted testing of high-risk populations and the diagnosis and treatment of latent TB infection fundamental components of TB-control. Despite its known limitations, the tuberculin skin test (TST) has been applied over a century for screening for the presence of TB infection. Alternative diagnostic tests in-vitro interferon-release assays (IGRAs) have recently been developed  respectively with several advantages over the TST. As part of a TB contact investigation among health care workers following exposure to a microscopically negative, culture positive index case of IGRA QuantiFERON®-TB gold in-Tube was compared  with the TST and calculated predictors for a positive test result. The survey results suggest that IGRAs can sustainably contribute to the simplification of TB control in health care. For this work Dr. Felix C. Ringshausen was awarded with the PhD Award 2010 from the the German Lung Foundation.