The Three-Gene Xpert Host Response Signature for Pediatric Tuberculosis Screening: A Prospective Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Blood-based gene signatures offer potential as a near point-of-care tuberculosis (TB) screening tool. We examined the accuracy of the GeneXpert MTB Host Response (Xpert-HR) cartridge to screen for TB in children.

Methods

We enrolled children under 15 years from The Gambia and Uganda being evaluated for pulmonary TB. Each child provided a blood sample for Xpert-HR and underwent standard TB assessments, including chest X-ray (CXR) and sputum Xpert Ultra testing, followed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) case classification of Confirmed, Unconfirmed, or Unlikely TB. We measured cycle threshold (Ct) values for GBP5, DUSP3, and TBP, calculated an HR TB score, and generated ROC curves. Specificity was assessed at 90% sensitivity according to strict (SRS, Confirmed

SUBMITTER: Poore H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12728297 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature