Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Vol 150, No. 6, 12 1994, 1508-1512.
Determination of humoral immunoglobulins M and G directed against mycobacterial antigen 60 failed to diagnose primary tuberculosis and mycobacterial adenitis in children
M Turneer, E Van Nerom, J Nyabenda, A Waelbroeck, A Duvivier and M Toppet
Institut Pasteur du Brabant, Bruxelles, Belgium.
The serodiagnosis of primary tuberculosis (TB) and mycobacterial adenitis
in children was tried using the Anda-Tb tests (Anda Biologicals, France)
that measure immunoglobulins (Ig) M and G directed against mycobacterial
antigen 60 (A60) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The 188 cases
studied included 81 healthy or mycobacteria- unrelated diseased children
with no reaction to tuberculin skin test (STN); 9 recent BCG vaccination
(BCG); 35 asymptomatic (AsTB), 29 symptomatic (STB) primary TB and 11
adenitis caused by atypical mycobacteria from the group
avium-intracellulare-scrofulaceum (MAIS) tested before treatment; and 23
past primary TB tested at different times after completion of specific
treatment (past TB). The individual IgM and IgG levels largely overlapped
whatever the clinical status of the children. Setting the normal upper
limit at the 95th percentile of the STN values, which by definition gives
95% specificity, the highest IgM sensitivity was found in past TB (35%),
AsTB showing 23%, STB 17%, and MAIS 18% sensitivity. IgG sensitivity was
also the highest in past TB (26%) and was equal to 6, 14, and 9% in AsTB,
STB, and MAIS, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values and
the test efficiency (63 and 62% for IgM and IgG, respectively) were far too
low. Combining positivity for IgM and/or IgG did not improve the results.
In our study, the anti-A60 IgM and IgG measurements using the Anda-Tb tests
in primary TB and mycobacterial adenitis in children did not prove of any
diagnostic help.
