The role of chest X-rays when screening for latent tuberculosis infection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease before starting biologic treatment.

Background: Guidelines generally recommend a combination of immunological assays and chest X-ray imaging (CXR) when screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) prior to biologic treatment in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Objective: To investigate whether CXR identify patients with suspected LTBI/TB who were not identified with QuantiFERON tests (QFT) when screening for LTBI/TB before starting biologic treatment in IBD patients.

Methods: Single-center, retrospective cohort study of patients with inflammatory bowel disease who had a QFT and a CXR prior to initiation of biologic treatment in a 5-year period (October 1st, 2017 to September 30th, 2022).

Results: 520 patients (56% female, mean age 40.1 years) were included. The majority had none or few risk factors for TB (as reflected by the demographic characteristics) but some risk factors for having false negative QFT results (concurrent glucocorticoid treatment and inflammatory activity). QFT results were positive in 8 patients (1.5%), inconclusive in 18 (3.5%) and negative in 494 (95.0%). Only 1 patient (0.19%) had CXR findings suspicious of LTBI. This patient also had a positive QFT and was subsequently diagnosed with active TB. All patients with negative or inconclusive QFT had CXR without any findings suggesting LTBI/TB. One patient developed active TB after having initiated biologic treatment in spite of having negative QFT and a normal CXR at screening.

Conclusion: In a population with low risk of TB, the benefits of supplementing the QFT with a CXR are limited and are unlikely to outweigh the cost in both patient test-burden, radioactive exposure, and economic resources.