What is it about?
Current tuberculosis screening for prisoners is the chest x-ray examination. Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific interferon-gamma release assays provide more accurate method to diagnose latent tuberculosis infection with higher specificity than the tuberculin skin test (TST). This study is the first cost-effectiveness analysis that demonstrated that QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) strategy is the most cost-effective for entry TB screening in prisons compared to TST, TST followed by QFT and chest X-ray.
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Why is it important?
This study showed that entry TB screening of prisoners using an IGRA is recommended on the basis of the cost-effectiveness, not only to reduce TB incidence in prisons, but also to prevent the spread of TB infection in the local community.
Perspectives
I would like to contribute TB policy decision in the world and believe that this article could promote TB screening using an IGRA in prison to prevent TB transmission on the basis of cost-effectiveness.
Akiko Kowada
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Cost-effectiveness of interferon-gamma release assay for entry tuberculosis screening in prisons, Epidemiology and Infection, January 2013, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0950268812002907.
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