Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains as a major threat to global health. Nearly a third of the world’s population is estimated to have latent M. tuberculosis infection, and this is considered to be a major reservoir of potential active disease. Immunocompromised individuals, such as those with chronic renal failure requiring haemodialysis, solid organ transplant recipients, and individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have an increased likelihood of progression from latent infection to active disease, due to impaired cell-mediated immunity. Owing to the absence of a systematic review evaluating concordance between interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among immunodeficient individuals, this literature review aims to evaluate the reported agreement between IGRAs and TST in the diagnosis of LTBI. It will also assess the utility of IGRAs among individuals with weak immune systems as well as determine the degree of concordance among three diagnostic tests (TST, QuantiFERON, and TSPOT-TB) for LTBI.