1B) and also demonstrate that ESAT-6 performed best in differentiating the TB disease and NC groups, with good sensitivity and high specificity (Table 2). The cut-off point and the LR + and − are also given in this table. The Kappa index for this test was 0.571 (P < 0.001). The LTBI and TB disease groups were together (n = 38) compared Acalabrutinib mouse with the NC group. The purpose of this was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of the antigens studied to discriminate patients with TB, in the early or chronic phase, from those without the infection who were BCG vaccinated.

The results obtained showed that the AUCs for ESAT-6, CFP-10 and PPD were 0.758, 0.600 and 0.647, respectively (Fig. 1C). These results demonstrate a good discriminatory power of the ESAT-6 test in detecting patients with TB, including those in whom infection is in the initial phases (LTBI), with good sensitivity and specificity (Table 2). The Kappa index found for this test was 0.476 (P < 0.001). Early diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis is extremely important for halting progression to the more debilitating chronic forms of the disease, and when combined with early treatment of recently infected (adult or child) patients, it may be possible

to prevent the transmission of TB to healthy BMN 673 supplier people. Moreover, early diagnosis may be a useful tool for studying the epidemiological profile of this disease in a clearly defined population, thereby helping health managers, in accordance with local needs, to select the most appropriate measures to control and combat TB, especially in vulnerable populations such as children [1, 6, 8]. One diagnostic method used to confirm the presence of the TB pathogen in adult patients is the sputum culture, although this has a number of limitations, such as low sensitivity and non-specificity for M. tuberculosis [31]. In children, this diagnostic method is more difficult because they are paucibacillary. Therefore, for TB diagnosis in children, a triad is used: an epidemiological

history of contact with smear-positive adults, clinical and RX findings indicative of TB and interpretation of the TST as reactive [32, 33]. However, in endemic areas, the confirmation of TB in paediatric this website patients using these criteria has limited accuracy, as a result of several factors. One is that the majority of children have had contact with adult tuberculosis, making it impossible to select a group of those who actually are at risk of developing the disease [34]. Another important factor is that the TST in this population usually presents positive results because immunity is stimulated by BCG vaccination (as adopted in TB endemic countries, such as Brazil) and this can induce reactivity to PPD, for up to 15 years. This makes it difficult to distinguish between those who are reactive because they have an M. tuberculosis infection and those who are reactive as a result of prior BCG vaccination [35].