• J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2014

    Follow-up testing of interferon-gamma release assays are useful in ankylosing spondylitis patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha for latent tuberculosis infection.

    • Chang-Nam Son, Jae-Bum Jun, Jong-Heon Kim, Il-Hoon Sung, Dae-Hyun Yoo, and Tae-Hwan Kim.
    • Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, Korea.
    • J. Korean Med. Sci. 2014 Aug 1; 29 (8): 1090-3.

    AbstractWe 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.

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