University Library
  • Login
A gateway to Melbourne's research publications
Minerva Access is the University's Institutional Repository. It aims to collect, preserve, and showcase the intellectual output of staff and students of the University of Melbourne for a global audience.
View Item 
  • Minerva Access
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
  • Melbourne Medical School
  • Medicine and Radiology
  • Medicine and Radiology - Research Publications
  • View Item
  • Minerva Access
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
  • Melbourne Medical School
  • Medicine and Radiology
  • Medicine and Radiology - Research Publications
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Immune function biomarker QuantiFERON-monitor is associated with infection risk in cirrhotic patients

    Thumbnail
    Download
    Published version (892.1Kb)

    Citations
    Scopus
    Altmetric
    5
    Author
    Sood, S; Yu, L; Visvanathan, K; Angus, PW; Gow, PJ; Testro, AG
    Date
    2016-12-18
    Source Title
    World Journal of Hepatology
    Publisher
    BAISHIDENG PUBLISHING GROUP INC
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Angus, Peter; Visvanathan, Kumar; Sood, Siddharth; Yu, Lijia; Testro, Adam; Gow, Paul
    Affiliation
    Medicine and Radiology
    Medical Education
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Sood, S., Yu, L., Visvanathan, K., Angus, P. W., Gow, P. J. & Testro, A. G. (2016). Immune function biomarker QuantiFERON-monitor is associated with infection risk in cirrhotic patients. WORLD JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY, 8 (35), pp.1569-1575. https://doi.org/10.4254/wjh.v8.i35.1569.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/257964
    DOI
    10.4254/wjh.v8.i35.1569
    Abstract
    AIM: To investigate whether a novel immune function biomarker QuantiFERON-Monitor (QFM) can identify cirrhotic patients at greatest risk of infection. METHODS: Adult cirrhotic patients on the liver transplant waiting list were recruited for this observational cohort study from a tertiary liver transplant referral unit. The immune function biomarker, QFM was performed using the same method as the widely available Quantiferon-gold assay, and measures output in interferon gamma in IU/mL after dual stimulation of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Ninety-one cirrhotic patients were recruited, with 47 (52%) transplanted on the day of their QFM. The remaining 44 (48%) were monitored for infections until transplant, death, or census date of 1st February 2014. RESULTS: Cirrhotic patients express a median QFM significantly lower than healthy controls (94.5 IU/mL vs 423 IU/mL), demonstrating that they are severely immunosuppressed. Several factors including model for end stage liver disease, presence of hepatocellular carcinoma, bilirubin, international normalized ratio and haemoglobin were associated with QFM on univariate analysis. Disease aetiology did not appear to impact QFM. On multivariate analysis, only Child-Pugh score and urea were significantly associated with a patient's immune function as objectively measured by QFM. In the 44 patients who were not transplanted immediately after their blood test and could be monitored for subsequent infection risk, 13 (29.5%) experienced a pre-transplant infection a median 20 d (range 2-182) post-test. QFM < 214 IU/mL was associated with HR = 4.1 (P = 0.01) for infection. A very low QFM < 30 IU/mL was significantly associated (P = 0.003) with death in three patients who died while awaiting transplantation (HR = 56.6). CONCLUSION: QFM is lower in cirrhotics, allowing objective determinations of an individual's unique level of immune dysfunction. Low QFM was associated with increased susceptibility to infection.

    Export Reference in RIS Format     

    Endnote

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".

    Refworks

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References


    Collections
    • Minerva Elements Records [45770]
    • Medical Education - Research Publications [497]
    • Medicine and Radiology - Research Publications [2347]
    Minerva AccessDepositing Your Work (for University of Melbourne Staff and Students)NewsFAQs

    BrowseCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects
    My AccountLoginRegister
    StatisticsMost Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors