title: The effect of antituberculosis treatment on interferon-gamma release assay results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Monitoring the efficacy of antituberculosis therapy is crucial. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of tuberculosis treatment on interferon-gamma response using Quanti-FERON-TB Gold in tube (QFT-GIT).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 216 new pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) cases were tested with QFT-GIT at the start of the treatment and, randomly, once or twice between 90 and 180 days afterwards. Data was analysed using the random effect regression model analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  63.4% of patients were positive at the QFT-GIT (> .35 UI cut-off). TB cases showed a significant log-linear increase in interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) concentration, over time of treatment: IFN-gamma concentration increased by 78% after 6 months of treatment in acid-fast bacilli positive (A) and culture negative cases in culture confirmed cases the increase was 43% if A+ and 20% in A-.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effective therapy seems to restore cellular responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens. The potential use of interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) in monitoring response to TB treatment is hampered by the presence of active mycobacterial replication at baseline and needs further evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Pneumology Local Health Agency Turin 2-Regional TB reference center, Turin, Italy. maxbugiani@libero.it
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bugiani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonora
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carosso
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piccioni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavallero
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mondo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ghisetti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000995:Antitubercular Agents; C072681:Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens; D007371:Interferon-gamma