The assay has higher specificity but similar sensitivity for detecting latent infection or active disease.
Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children is challenging because fewer than 50% of children with active TB have positive cultures. Furthermore, identification of latent TB infection with the tuberculin skin test (TST) is poorly standardized, requires a return visit in 2 to 3 days, and results can be confounded by non-TB mycobacterial exposure and prior bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review of 20 studies in immunocompetent children to evaluate the usefulness of the interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) for diagnosis of latent infection and active TB disease.
Correlation between the IGRA and TST was highly variable; κ statistic agreement ranged from 0.17 to 0.86 in individual st…