Shortening Isolation of Patients With Suspected Tuberculosis by Using Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis: A Nationwide Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Isolation of patients suspected for pulmonary tuberculosis is guided by serial sputum smears. This can result in isolation for days for patients with noncontagious tuberculosis. To determine whether a single sample negative for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex at polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can guide isolation.

Effectiveness of anti-tumour necrosis factor-α therapy in Danish patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of anti-tumour necrosis factor-α (anti-TNF) treatment in a large cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in clinical practice and to establish a cohort for future studies of genetic markers associated with treatment response.

Methods: A national, clinically based cohort of previously naïve anti-TNF treated patients from 18 medical departments was established. The patients were screened for tuberculosis prior to treatment initiation.

Associations between functional polymorphisms in the NFκB signaling pathway and response to anti-TNF treatment in Danish patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Antitumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is used for treatment of severe cases of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). However, one-third of the patients do not respond to the treatment. Genetic markers may predict individual response to anti-TNF therapy.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria and the performance of interferon gamma release assays in Denmark.

Background: The QuantiFERON-TB-Gold Test (QFT) is more specific than the Mantoux skin-test to discriminate between Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. Here we study the performance of the QFT in patients with NTM disease.

Methods: From 2005 to 2011, nationwide patient data on positive NTM cultures (n = 925) were combined with nationwide data on QFT results (n = 16,133), both retrieved from the International Reference Laboratory of Mycobacteriology, Denmark.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis outbreak strain of Danish origin spreading at worrying rates among greenland-born persons in Denmark and Greenland.

Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis continues at high rates among Greenland-born persons in Greenland and Denmark, with 203 and 450 notified cases per 10(5) population, respectively, in the year 2010. Here, we document that the predominant M. tuberculosis outbreak strain C2/1112-15 of Danish origin has been transmitted to Greenland-born persons in Denmark and subsequently to Greenland, where it is spreading at worrying rates and adding to the already heavy tuberculosis burden in this population group.