{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T06:29:43Z","timestamp":1774679383356,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["int j tuberc lung dis"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"abstract":"<sec><title>BACKGROUND<\/title>Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) have largely replaced the tuberculin skin test (TST) for diagnosing TB infection (TBI) in low-TB-burden countries, except in young children. This review assesses the diagnostic accuracy of IGRAs\n in children under 5 years old, using TST as a reference, for detecting TBI.<\/sec><sec><title>METHODS<\/title>A systematic review was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and LILACS to identify studies published up to November 2024 that performed\n simultaneous IGRA and TST for TBI in children under five in low-TB-prevalence settings. Studies in mid- or high-burden countries involving immunocompromised children, TB disease, or non-TB mycobacteria, as well as studies lacking paired IGRA and TST, were excluded. A meta-analysis quantified\n the sensitivity and specificity of IGRA and explored heterogeneity.<\/sec><sec><title>RESULTS<\/title>Thirty-one reports met the inclusion criteria, providing 5,679 paired results. Compared to the TST, pooled sensitivity for IGRAs was 87.3% (95% confidence interval:\n 73.0\u201394.1), while specificity reached 98.3% (95% confidence interval: 95.7\u201399.2).<\/sec><sec><title>CONCLUSION<\/title>These findings support the use of IGRA for diagnosing TBI in young children in low-prevalence settings. We recommend a cautious approach\n in high-risk children, including the combination of both tests.<\/sec><\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5588\/ijtld.25.0341","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T04:34:41Z","timestamp":1774672481000},"page":"147-155","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The diagnostic accuracy of interferon-gamma release assay for TB infection in children under 5 years: a systematic review with meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.5588","volume":"30","author":[{"given":"S.","family":"Debulpaep","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium;, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"H.","family":"Van Overschelde","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium;, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"L.","family":"Pieters","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"A.","family":"Soler-Garcia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Malalties Infeccioses i Resposta Inflamat\u00f2ria Sist\u00e8mica en Pediatria, Servei d\u00b4Infectologia, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, Barcelona, Spain;, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red de Epidemiolog\u00eda\n y Salud P\u00fablica (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain;, Departament de Cirurgia i Especialitats Medicoquir\u00fargiques, Facultat de Medicina i Ci\u00e8ncies de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"A.","family":"Noguera-Julian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Malalties Infeccioses i Resposta Inflamat\u00f2ria Sist\u00e8mica en Pediatria, Servei d\u00b4Infectologia, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, Barcelona, Spain;, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red de Epidemiolog\u00eda\n y Salud P\u00fablica (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain;, Departament de Cirurgia i Especialitats Medicoquir\u00fargiques, Facultat de Medicina i Ci\u00e8ncies de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T.","family":"Goetghebuer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Saint-Pierre, Universit\u00e9 Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"P.","family":"Schelstraete","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Infectious Diseases, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Hainaut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Saint-Pierre, Universit\u00e9 Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"N.S.","family":"Pauwels","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Knowledge Centre for Health Ghent, Ghent University and Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"3554","container-title":["The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ingentaconnect.com\/content\/iuatld\/ijtld\/2026\/00000030\/00000004\/art00001","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T04:34:58Z","timestamp":1774672498000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ingentaconnect.com\/content\/10.5588\/ijtld.25.0341"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]}},"alternative-id":["1027-3719(20260327)30:4L.147;1-"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5588\/ijtld.25.0341","relation":{},"ISSN":["1027-3719"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1027-3719","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]}}}