Multicenter clinical evaluation of three commercial reagent kits based on the interferon-gamma release assay for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis in China

Highlights • This was a multicenter clinical evaluation with a large sample and a blinded method comparing the performance of three commercial IGRA reagent kits used clinically in China for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. • The bacteriological method was used as the ‘gold standard’. • The main aim of this study was to compare the performance of the kits and to determine whether these can be used reliably as diagnostic tools for TB infection, particularly the two domestic kits from China.