Diagnostic value of an enzyme-linked immunospot assay for interferon-γ in genitourinary tuberculosis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of an enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay for interferon-γ in patients with suspected genitourinary tuberculosis (TB). A total of 30 patients with suspected genitourinary TB at the National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, were prospectively enrolled from January 2007 to December 2009, and 12 of whom had positive urine culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Frequency and dysuria were the most common symptoms noted in 6 (50.0%) and 4 (33.3%) patients, respectively. Pyuria was the most common finding of urinalysis noted in 11 (91.7%) patients. Six (50.0%) patients had positive acid-fast stain in urine. Among the 30 patients, 13 patients had positive ELISPOT assay. Eleven patients with positive ELISPOT assay had culture-confirmed TB, and the remaining 2 patients without evidence of active TB had positive ELISPOT assay. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for genitourinary TB diagnosis by the ELISPOT assay were 91.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.8–99.6%), 88.9% (95% CI, 63.9–98.1%), 84.6% (95% CI, 53.7–97.3%), and 94.1% (95% CI, 69.2–96.7%), respectively. In conclusion, ELISPOT assay can provide useful support in diagnosing genitourinary TB.