title: Three years of experience with QuantiFERON-TB gold testing in patients with uveitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Overview of the results of QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT) testing on uveitis patients in an interdisciplinary setting for a period of 3 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Database search of all the patients tested for tuberculosis (Tb) with QFT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 343 tested patients, overall 80 (23.3%) were positive and 253 (73.8%) negative (results were nonconclusive for 10 patients). Anatomic localization of the patients who tested positive were distributed (% of QFT(+) tests) as anterior n = 12 (15.0%), intermediate n = 22 (27.5%), posterior n = 26 (32.5%), and pan n = 18 (22.5%). In 43 QFT(+) patients we presumed a diagnosis of Tb due to additional clinical findings. Of these patients 16 were treated with full therapy following WHO recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QFT testing gives surprisingly high numbers of positives in uveitis patients. This is not sufficiently explained by immigrant status of the patients. The frequency of positives is substantially higher than in other cohorts. This raises important questions regarding treatment implications.
authors.affiliation: University Eye Hospital, Interdisciplinary Uveitis Center , Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, Heidelberg , Germany .
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jakob
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Max
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Dalpke
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mackensen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014392:Tuberculosis, Ocular / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D014605:Uveitis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: Epidemiology; gamma interferon release essay; infectious uveitis; quantiferon; tuberculosis