Ambulatory Healthcare Services, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Department of Pediatrics, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Int J Infect Dis. 2014 Jun;23:4-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2013.12.020. Epub 2014 Mar 19.
Intense migration to the United Arab Emirates from tuberculosis (TB) high-endemic areas presents a particular risk to the population. Screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) usually involves risk assessment, the tuberculin skin test (TST), and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). This study investigated the use of an IGRA to screen for LTBI and compared its performance with a risk assessment questionnaire.
This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at seven Ambulatory Healthcare Services facilities in Abu Dhabi. Participants (88% Emiratis) were pediatric patients presenting for routine care. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test was performed and the parents completed a questionnaire assessing TB risk factors.
Six-hundred and ninety-nine subjects (median age 8.7 years, interquartile range 9.2 years) were enrolled; 669 (96%) agreed to testing. Four patients had a positive IGRA; one had previously been treated for TB, resulting in three patients with LTBI. The estimated LTBI prevalence was 0.45% (95% confidence interval 0.09-1.3). A household contact from a TB high-endemic area was reported in 44%, travel to a TB high-endemic area in 10%, and contact with someone with a chronic cough in 7%, a TB case in 3%, a TST-positive case in 2%, and an IGRA-positive case in 2%. Fifty percent of participants had at least one risk factor. The risk assessment did not predict a positive IGRA.
The questionnaire yielded a risk of TB exposure of 50%, however the LTBI prevalence, as defined by the IGRA, was low (0.45%).
从结核病（TB）高发地区大量移民到阿拉伯联合酋长国，对当地人口构成了特殊的风险。潜伏性结核感染（LTBI）的筛查通常包括风险评估、结核菌素皮肤试验（TST）和干扰素-γ释放试验（IGRA）。本研究调查了使用 IGRA 筛查 LTBI 的情况，并比较了其与风险评估问卷的性能。
这是一项在阿布扎比的 7 个门诊医疗保健服务机构进行的前瞻性横断面研究。参与者（88%为阿联酋人）为接受常规护理的儿科患者。进行了 QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube 检测，父母填写了一份评估结核病危险因素的问卷。
共纳入 699 名受试者（中位数年龄为 8.7 岁，四分位间距为 9.2 岁）；669 名（96%）同意接受检测。4 名患者的 IGRA 检测结果为阳性，其中 1 名患者曾因结核病接受过治疗，导致 3 名患者患有 LTBI。LTBI 的估计患病率为 0.45%（95%置信区间 0.09-1.3）。44%的家庭接触者来自结核病高发地区，10%的人去过结核病高发地区，7%的人接触过慢性咳嗽者，3%的人接触过结核病患者，2%的人接触过 TST 阳性者，2%的人接触过 IGRA 阳性者。50%的参与者有至少一个危险因素。风险评估不能预测 IGRA 阳性。
问卷得出的结核病接触风险为 50%，但 IGRA 定义的 LTBI 患病率较低（0.45%）。
