Comparison between the Interferon γ Release Assay—QuantiFERON Gold Plus (QFT-Plus)—and Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) in the Detection of Tuberculosis Infection in Immunocompromised Children

Table 2

TST and QFT-Plus results based on nutritional status, chemotherapy history, therapy duration, and patient groups.

Variables assessed	TST ()					QFT-Plus
	+	−	Total ()	value	+	Indeterminate	−	Total	value
Nutritional status
Normal	3	46	49	0.72	7	1	41	49	0.76
Moderately malnourished	0	12	12		1	0	11	12
Severely malnourished	1	9	10		3	0	7	10
Therapy
Chemotherapy	4	36	40	0.19	6	1	33	40	0.11
Chemotherapy+steroid	0	29	29		5	0	24	29
Steroid	0	2	2		0	0	2	2
Duration of therapy
≤3 months	2	27	29	1.0	5	0	24	29	0.67
>3 months	2	40	42		6	1	35	42
Patient classification
Hematological	3	37	40	0.45	6	1	33	40	0.26
Nephrological	0	19	19		1	0	18	19
Immunological	1	11	12		4	0	8	12
BCG status
Positive	4	63	67	1.0	11	1	55	67	0.65
Negative	0	4	4		0	0	4	4

TST: tuberculin skin test; QFT-Plus: QuantiFERON Gold Plus.