Comparative results of skin testing using tuberculosis allergen recombinant (CFP-10-ESAT-6) and QuantiFERON – GIT in children and adolescents with TB infection

Aim. To compare results of skin testing using the preparation CFP-10-ESAT-6 (DST) and QuantiFERON–GIT ( QFT) in children and adolescents with local TB or latent TB infection (LTBI). Subjects and Methods. 213 children and adolescents were studied including163(77,6%) with TB and 47 (22,4%) with LTBI. All the children received chemotherapy for at least 2 months for LTBI and 6 months for active TB. All the children were examined within one day by two procedures: first QFT and then DST (0.2 mkg in 0.1 ml intradermally). Any size induration was considered positive reaction Results. Positive DST-reactions (mean size 16,2±4,43mm) was observed in 172 (81,9%, 95% CI 76,1-86,6%) patients including 90,7% in TB-patients and 51,1% in LTBI,p Conclusion: DST and QFT-GIT have comparable high sensitivity with a high agreement between the results; the discordance of tests in 9,5% possibly results by dynamics of DST during chemotherapy and near-threshold variability of QFT-GIT values.