QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube as help for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in a French pediatric hospital

The diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is difficult in children. The pediatricians are waiting for new and rapid tests that are easy to realize and that are performed better than tuberculin skin test (TST). We presented here the evaluation of QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-G IT) in the Children Hospital of Nancy. Fifty-one children were divided into 3 groups: healthy contacts (HC, n = 31), latent TB infection (LTBI, n = 13), and active TB (n = 7). QFT-G IT was positive in 0%, 15%, and 43% of children compared with 3%, 70%, and 57% for TST, respectively, for the HC, LTBI, and active TB groups. Indeterminate QFT-G IT occurred in 14% of the cases, seemed to correlate with young age, and was not explained by preanalytic parameters. In conclusion, despite its objectivity and its higher specificity (especially in Bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccinated children), the real place of QFT-G IT in TB diagnosis in children remains difficult to define.