Latent Tuberculosis Infection - Diagnosis and Treatment

Ilievska Poposka, Biljana and Metodieva, Marija and Zakoska, Maja and Trajkov, Dejan (2018) Latent Tuberculosis Infection - Diagnosis and Treatment. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 6 (4). pp. 651-655. ISSN 1857-9655

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is defined as a state of persistent immune response to
stimulation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens without evidence of clinically manifested active tuberculosis
(TB). Diagnosis and treatment for LTBI are important for TB, especially in high-risk populations. Tuberculin skin
test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are used to diagnose LTBI.
AIM: The study aims to present the first results with IGRA test compared with TST in the screening of LTBI and
the treatment results in the cases with LTBI in Macedonia.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study 73 cases diagnosed and treated with LTBI in 2016 were included. For
diagnosis of LTBI, we used TST RT -23 5T.U. and commercial IGRA test such as QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube
(QFT-IT).
RESULTS: Out of 73 cases with LTBI, 61.64% were men, and 38.36% were women. Among all age groups, the
most frequent were cases between 5 and 14 years old (54.79%). Among the evaluated risk groups for LTBI, the
most frequent were children household contacts with pulmonary TB cases (61-83.65%), followed by people living
with HIV (9-12.33%) and only 3 cases with other medical reasons. Positive TST had 34 cases (46.57%) and
positive IGRA test 25 cases (34.25%). Regarding the treatment regimes, we use two regimes: 50 cases (68.44%)
received 6 months daily regime with Isoniazid, and 23 cases (31.51%) received 3 months daily regime with
Isoniazid and Rifampicin. Treatment outcomes showed that the most patients completed treatment regimes: 55
(75.34%) and only 10 (13.09%) interrupted the treatment.
CONCLUSION: Despite the progress made in the last few years, several challenges remain to be addressed for
better management of LTBI which will contribute to strength TB control in the country.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Medical and Health Sciences > Clinical medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Medical Science
Depositing User:	Biljana Ilievska Poposka
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2021 12:18
Last Modified:	03 Mar 2021 12:18
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/27877

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