†These authors contributed equally.
Academic Editor: Josef Jampílek
Background: To evaluate the concordance between QuantiFERON-TB Gold
in-tube test (QFT-GIT) and T-SPOT.TB test (T-SPOT)
for the screening of latent tuberculosis
infection (LTBI) in patients with rheumatic diseases (RDs).
Methods: Patients diagnosed as rheumatic diseases (RDs) with
clinical indications for test of interferon gamma release test (IGRA) were
prospectively recruited from 2019 to 2020. The consistency of QFT-GIT and T-SPOT
was assessed by Kappa analysis and the factors associated with the indeterminate
results were explored by multivariable logistic analysis. Results: A
total of 108 patients with RDs were enrolled, including 64 patients with systemic
lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 44 with inflammatory arthritis (26 with rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) and 18 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS)). Poor concordance was
confirmed between QFT-GIT and T-SPOT results in patients with SLE (K = 0.175,
95% confidence interval [95% CI] [–0.06, 0.40], p