{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]],"date-time":"2026-06-03T07:45:16Z","timestamp":1780472716810,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"The Journal of Rheumatology","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Rheumatol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2009,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective.<\/jats:title><jats:p>We evaluated the T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> assay to identify latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with rheumatic disease receiving immunosuppressive medication including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods.<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 200 patients seen in the Arthritis Center at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital were enrolled for study. Most patients were US-born women with rheumatoid arthritis. A medical history was obtained using a questionnaire, whole blood was drawn for the T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> assay, and tuberculin skin testing (TST) was performed.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results.<\/jats:title><jats:p>Both tests were performed on 179 subjects, who had no history of a positive TST. All subjects had a strong response to the T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> test positive control, and there were no indeterminate results. Among these 179 subjects, 2 had a positive TST and 10 had a positive T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> test. No subject was positive for both tests. Patients with a positive T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> test did not have typical risk factors for LTBI based on clinical evaluation.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion.<\/jats:title><jats:p>The lack of concordance between the TST and the T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> assay may indicate that the immunoassay is more sensitive, particularly in a patient population taking immunosuppressive medications. It is equally likely that the low prevalence of LTBI in this low-risk population led to an increase in the false-positive rate despite the high sensitivity and specificity of the T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> assay. In the context of our patient population, the T-SPOT.<jats:italic>TB<\/jats:italic> assay is likely to be most useful in evaluation of patients with a positive TST, since these patients have a higher pretest probability of having LTBI.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3899\/jrheum.080854","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,10,20]],"date-time":"2009-10-20T18:35:59Z","timestamp":1256063759000},"page":"546-551","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":35,"title":["Use of the T-SPOT.<i>TB<\/i> Assay to Detect Latent Tuberculosis Infection Among Rheumatic Disease Patients on Immunosuppressive Therapy"],"prefix":"10.3899","volume":"36","author":[{"given":"SAMUEL M.","family":"BEHAR","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"DANIEL S.","family":"SHIN","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"AGNES","family":"MAIER","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"JONATHAN","family":"COBLYN","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"SIMON","family":"HELFGOTT","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"MICHAEL E.","family":"WEINBLATT","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2262","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2009,2,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"2018112909184722000_36.3.546.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/424455"},{"key":"2018112909184722000_36.3.546.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa011110"},{"key":"2018112909184722000_36.3.546.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.295.19.2275"},{"key":"2018112909184722000_36.3.546.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/art.20009"},{"key":"2018112909184722000_36.3.546.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/art.11137"},{"key":"2018112909184722000_36.3.546.6","unstructured":"Food and Drug Administration Arthritis Drugs Advisory Committee . 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