Comparative evaluation of results of various methods of allergodiagnosis of tuberculosis in children

Abstract

A comparative study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of Mantoux test with 2 TE PPD-L (MT) and the skin test with tuberculosis recombinant allergen (TRA) in standard dilution based on their results in children with newly diagnosed active and inactive tuberculosis (TB) as well as in those from high-risk group of tuberculosis. «Inactive» was considered TB in children registered with dispensary follow-up group (DFG) IIIA. The materials for the study were data received upon the request of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) from TB institutions of 81 constituent units of Russian Federation. The study shows that the sensitivity of MT in patients with active TB and children from IIIA DFG is higher than that of skin test with TRA. It was found that in 18.7 % of patients with active TB TRA skin test results remained negative throughout the year, 26.7 % of patients became positive in 3 months, 2.7 % of patients became positive in a year after the initial examination. When implementing the skin test with TRA as a screening method, at least 5-8 % of patients will not be diagnosed with TB at early stages, which can lead to treatment delay and worsening of the TB epidemiological situation.