In this cross-sectional study of 284 children and adolescents with clinically or radiologically suspected tuberculosis in a low-endemic country, the QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus assay specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 91.5%, 87.3%, 86.4%, and 91.2%, respectively. The specificity was higher than that observed in tuberculin skin tests performed simultaneously, but similar to previousgeneration interferon-gamma release assays.
RationaleIn 2016, a new interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) was introduced, QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), claimed to have improved sensitivity in active tuberculosis (TB).ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the performance of QFT-Plus, compared with previous generation IGRAs and the tuberculin skin test (TST), in children with TB in Europe.MethodsMulticentre, ambispective cohort study within the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet), a dedicated paediatric TB research network comprising >300 members, capturing TB cases <18 years-of-age diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2019.Measurements and main results1001 TB cases from 16 countries were included (mean age (IQR) 5.6 (2.4–12.1) years). QFT-Plus was performed in 358, QFT Gold in-Tube (QFT-GIT) in 600, T-SPOT.TBin 58 and TST in 636 cases. The overall test sensitivities were: QFT-Plus 83.8% (95% CI 80.2% to 87.8%), QFT-GIT 85.5% (95% CI 82.7% to 88.3%), T-SPOT.TB77.6% (95% CI 66.9% to 88.3%) and TST (cut-off ≥10 mm) 83.3% (95% CI 83.3% to 86.2%). There was a trend for tests to have lower sensitivity in patients with miliary and/or central nervous system (CNS) TB (73.1%, 70.9%, 63.6% and 43.5%, respectively), and in immunocompromised patients (75.0%, 59.6%, 45.5% and 59.1%, respectively).ConclusionsThe results indicate that the latest generation IGRA assay, QFT-Plus, does not perform better than previous generation IGRAs or the TST in children with TB disease. Overall, tests performed worse in CNS and miliary TB, and in immunocompromised children. None of the tests evaluated had sufficiently high sensitivity to be used as a rule-out test in children with suspected TB.
comunes de la infancia. Dada la situación actual y las medidas de prevención del contagio en los pacientes con COVID-19, sean confirmados o de sospecha, es de especial importancia conocer esta sintomatología como parte del cuadro clínico de la enfermedad.
Background: There is no consensus for the best treatment of complex cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). We aimed to describe a cohort of CL, focusing on liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB) treatment outcome. Methods: We performed a retrospective study in Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona, Spain). All patients with parasitologically proven CL diagnosed from 2012 to 2018 were included. Results: The analysis included 41 patients with CL. The median age was 39 years (IQR 12- 66); 12 (29%) were children, and 29 (71%) were men. Regarding treatment, 24 (59%) received local treatment, whereas 17 (41%) had complex CL and were offered intravenous systemic treatment. Sixteen patients received L-AmB; eight (50%) had adverse events, and three (19%) discontinued treatment for safety reasons. All cases were considered cured within the first year post-treatment. Conclusions: L-AmB for complex CL showed no treatment failures, offering an alternative treatment option for patients with complex CL. Clinicians should pay close attention to the potential adverse events of L-AmB and adopt an active drug safety surveillance scheme to rapidly detect reversible side effects.
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