Objective. To evaluate the performance of an interferon-␥ release assay (IGRA) versus the standard tuberculin skin test (TST) as a screening tool for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection prior to the initiation of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy in patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases.Methods. This integrated analysis involved screening of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, those with psoriatic arthritis, and those with ankylosing spondylitis from phase III trials of golimumab. The IGRA used to screen for latent TB was the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test.Results. In this pooled analysis, 2,282 patients underwent both IGRA and TST screening prior to golimumab treatment. Among these patients, 13.8% had at least one test yielding positive findings for latent TB, including 9. 0% (62 of 1,248) and the rate of positivity by IGRA was 5.8% (72 of 1,248) (P ؍ 0.3745). When the IGRA was repeated in patients whose results were initially indeterminate, the rate of indeterminate IGRA findings for latent TB was much lower than has been previously reported.Conclusion. In the absence of a true gold standard test for latent TB infection, results of this comparison of IGRA and TST in a large cohort of patients with rheumatic diseases suggest that the IGRA provides greater specificity and possibly greater sensitivity than the TST.Screening for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection prior to use of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists