Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) such as Quantiferon (QFT) that detect T-cell responses to antigens specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) have superior specificity to the tuberculin skin test (TST). While IGRAs are technically robust and the test result is a simple positive or negative, the interpretation nevertheless requires thorough understanding of the test's characteristics [1]. An area of debate is that of “borderline” results near the cut-off value, mentioned first in the setting of serial screening of health care workers [2]. While different authors used different ranges of test results under this denominator, borderline results were generally attributed to random assay variability [3, 4]. In reproducibility studies, conversions and reversions were often seen around the manufacturer-recommended cut-off, with the advice to “interpret such results cautiously” [5, 6]. Most borderline Quantiferon results are antigen-specific responses, defying the common assumption of random variation http://ow.ly/9a0X30fQBCO

中文翻译：

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大多数临界 Quantiferon 结果是真正的抗原特异性反应的概念证明

干扰素-γ 释放试验 (IGRA)，例如检测 T 细胞对结核分枝杆菌 (MTB) 特异性抗原的反应的 Quantiferon (QFT)，其特异性优于结核菌素皮肤试验 (TST)。虽然 IGRA 在技术上是可靠的，并且测试结果是简单的阳性或阴性，但解释仍然需要彻底了解测试的特征 [1]。一个有争议的领域是接近临界值的“临界”结果，首先在卫生保健工作者的连续筛查设置中提到[2]。虽然不同作者在该分母下使用了不同范围的测试结果，但临界结果通常归因于随机测定的变异性 [3, 4]。在重现性研究中，经常在制造商推荐的临界值附近看到转化和逆转，并建议“谨慎解释此类结果”[5, 6]。大多数临界 Quantiferon 结果是抗原特异性反应，无视随机变化的常见假设 http://ow.ly/9a0X30fQBCO