The Numbers Are In.

After all the trials, studies and papers, the numbers are in. 


The above results are not from a single trial. They are generated from a meta analysis of all available data. (independently produced by Diel et al, 2010)


For me, after all is said and done, the above table tells the real story about how much more effective the QuantiFERON-TB Gold is for diagnosis of latent TB than any other alternative.


For example, have a look at the first section. Here we are seeing a comparison of the performance of the 3 diagnostics in a population in which 5% of the people actually have TB. That, in truth, is probably the situation in which diagnosis is most commonly used in the developed world. 


The table tells us this for QuantiFERON:

• If you have the QFT test and it comes back as positive, there is an 84.8% probability that you actually do have TB. 
• If you have the QFT test and it comes back as negative, you can be 99.2% sure that you do not have TB.

I would make the comparison with the other diagnostics but I don't want to embarrass them!

Even as you move to higher incidence environments, the QuantiFERON diagnostic has the highest accuracy of all options.