Follow-up testing of interferon-gamma release assays are useful in ankylosing spondylitis patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha for latent tuberculosis infection.
We evaluated the utility of follow-up interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) for the diagnosis of reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) or new tuberculosis in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα). The study participants (n=127) had a negative IGRA screening before receiving anti-TNFα and were evaluated by follow-up IGRA. We retrospectively examined data of the subjects according to age, gender, tuberculosis prophylaxis, concomitant medications, IGRA conversion and anti-TNFα, including type and treatment duration. The median duration of anti-TNFα was 21.5 months, and the median age was 35.3 yr. Of the 127 patients, IGRA conversion was found in 10 patients (7.9%). There was no significant variation between IGRA conversion rate and any risk factors except for age. IGRA conversion rate was not significantly different between AS and rheumatoid arthritis (P=0.12). IGRA conversion was observed in AS patients receiving anti-TNFα in Korea. A follow-up IGRA test can be helpful for identifying LTBI or new tuberculosis in AS patients receiving anti-TNFα.
['Son|Chang-Nam|CN|0000-0002-1722-2190', 'Jun|Jae-Bum|JB|0000-0002-0208-0505', 'Kim|Jong-Heon|JH|0000-0002-9648-0066', 'Sung|Il-Hoon|IH|0000-0002-4757-5210', 'Yoo|Dae-Hyun|DH|0000-0002-0643-4008', 'Kim|Tae-Hwan|TH|0000-0002-3542-2276']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal D018501:Antirheumatic Agents D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006801:Humans D007371:Interferon-gamma D055985:Latent Tuberculosis D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011379:Prognosis D015203:Reproducibility of Results D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing D016896:Treatment Outcome D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Interferon-Gamma Release Assay Ankylosing Spondylitis Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Latent Tuberculosis Infection