Can tuberculosis affect chances of entering medical school?

Truthfully I don't know what role this would play once in school or once accepted....however medical schools don't see/request your vaccinations etc until well after you have been accepted...so unless you bring it up oddly somewhere in your secondary or something, there is no way it could hurt getting accepted anyway

You may want to call and anonymously ask a few schools. I wouldn't suggest spending the time and money to go through the application process only to find out once accepted that it violates their technical standards for a student. Good luck!

exmissionary said:

If you have had inactive tuberculosis in the past can it affect your chances of being accepted into medical school?

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They will ask you for X-rays when skin test comes out positive. If X-ray is clear, you'll be fine.

Positive PPD doesn't axe your application. You have to fill out an explanation form and send it in, then have an examination at the college where they presumably ensure you are not currently infected (xray, etc?). Anyway, there is even a vaccination for TB that turns PPD positive. I think positive PPD is relatively common, especially with people that lived in another country for awhile, and schools schould be able to tell you.

There is also a blood test called Quantiferon Gold (or something like that) that is much better at detecting TB. It can even discriminate TB (+) vs. BCG vaccine.

if you turn up TB+ not only do they reject but they deport your filthy *** back to the 3rd world where you belong.

haha na like someone said as long as Xrays are good no prob. many ppl come up TB+ because of some exposure at sometime but don't actually have it. ie. my dad and he's a cardiologist

exmissionary said:

If you have had inactive tuberculosis in the past can it affect your chances of being accepted into medical school?

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your health history is not part of your admissions file, all that is required is that you sign a document stating that you meet the school's technical standards.

once accepted, you have a physical performed, but that information is never released to admissions and cannot be used to reject you.

I've had positive PPD tests ever since I can remember. I used to think it was because of the BCG shot I got as a baby in China but a nurse told me (and a pediatrician I shadowed told me this as well) that a BCG shot shouldn't cause a positive PPD test at this point (meaning I was exposed to TB at some point in my life).

Anyway, it doesn't stop me from shadowing physicians, working at hospitals, or working at the NIH. As everyone has already said, you just need to show the chest x-ray. I usually don't even bother w/ PPD's anymore and request that they perform a chest x-ray immediately. Interestingly, a couple of years ago, a nurse read my PPD as negative. I even asked her to make sure but she wouldn't budge

A baby is less likely than an adult to react to BCG, but why would they be giving it to you if it wouldn't react? If it reacts, you produce anti-TB (polyclonal for multiple Ag) Ab that lasts a lifetime and would be detected by PPD. Right? Just curious.

I don't know how the BCG works or even how a PPD test works. But, the doctor said that, after age 4-5 or so (a few years after the BCG shot), the child should stop giving positive PPD tests.

BigRedPremed said:

I don't know how the BCG works or even how a PPD test works. But, the doctor said that, after age 4-5 or so (a few years after the BCG shot), the child should stop giving positive PPD tests.

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i was just asking anyone; from your comments I didn't expect you to know, I was just wondering if there were any immunology buffs out there, as I only know the microbiology. but that (after age 4-5 or so) would make sense. i will do some googling and come back later.

bodonid said:

Anyway, there is even a vaccination for TB that turns PPD positive. I think positive PPD is relatively common, especially with people that lived in another country for awhile, and schools schould be able to tell you.

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Yeah I got this. My last TB test wasn't completely negative but I think the nurse read it as being so.

Like 60% of the world has latent TB. You are part of a very international club now.

I have a +PPD. My school made me provide proof of a normal chest x-ray and then paid for me to take isoniazid (INH) for 9 months (1 pill per day - easy).

did the isoniazid have any side effects?

Hum, this is kind of a screwy subject for me.

I grew up in Taiwan where everyone was given the BCG vaccine as babies. In 6th grade, all the students were given the skin test. For those didn't have the size over 10 mm, they needed a shot. So I remember comparing to classmates and see if I would be dragged to the nurse's office for a needle stick. Luckily mine was over 10 mm, and my friends who didn't meet the size requirement kept rubbing their arms hoping that it'll be big enough.

With that said, it makes sense to think for those who were vaccinated, they should get a positive skin test.

So when I entered college in the US and a TB test was required. Since my skin test was positive, and,

"According to the US guidelines, latent TB infection (LTBI) diagnosis and treatment for LTBI is considered for any BCG-vaccinated person whose skin test is 10 mm or greater, if any of these circumstances are present:

• Was in contact with another person with infectious TB
• Was born or has lived in a high TB prevalence country
• Is continually exposed to populations where TB prevalence is high. (Wiki)",

I was given isoniazid for 9 months. Sure taking a pill once a day wasn't a big deal, but why did I put some chemicals in my body when it's not even necessary?! I was vaccinated for God's sack! I wish I knew more about biology/health back then so I could tell the doctor that I didn't have latent TB!

"In general, the US recommendation results in a much larger number of people being falsely diagnosed with latent tuberculosis. (WiKi)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculin_skin_test


Anyway, back to the original question from the thread, as long as your chest X-ray is negative, there shouldn't be any problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoniazid#Side_effects

Personally, didn't have much of the side effects aside from having rash once after drinking alcohol (which you should not do while on this med!!!!).

Team Zissou said:

did the isoniazid have any side effects?

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It doesn't matter....

So if you are tested positive for TB on the skin test, you are supposed to be reviewed each year for Chest X-ray and symptoms, and if it is negative, you are strongly advised to take isoniazid for 9 months as a precaution

You are not infectious if you have a negative chest X-ray and start taking isoniazid. You can still volunteer in the hospital. But you still have to be reviewed every year still.

It's not a big deal in the U.S.! If you have volunteered in inner city background, live in a big city,volunteer abroad especially in developing countries, and other underserved communities, you probably were exposed to TB.

And the BCG vaccine is only 50% effective, it's not a great vaccine....

Depakote said:

your health history is not part of your admissions file, all that is required is that you sign a document stating that you meet the school's technical standards.

once accepted, you have a physical performed, but that information is never released to admissions and cannot be used to reject you.

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I agree, it shouldn't affect admissions, and don't think many schools ask for a pre-matriculation PPD. However there is no way you will be allowed on the wards for your clinical classes without having a PPD and then (if positive) evidence that you don't have active TB (eg a chest x-ray). So the school administration will ultimately know if you test positive.

Different criteria are supposed to be applied to decide if a PPD test is positive if the subject tested had a BCG vaccine. Most European countries (looks like it's similar in Asia) emphasize prevention by vaccinating everyone as a baby and then again during teenage/college years. That pretty much guarantees that if you move to the US, at some point someone (a health care professional) will tell you that your test is positive even though it really isn't. The drug offered to you "just in case" can cause liver problems and in most cases isn't necessary.
Many health care professionals consider PPD tests to screen for TB absolutely useless in case of those having prior BCG vaccines. Many think such tests unnecessarily stigmatize foreigners by giving them false positive results.

BigRedPremed said:

I've had positive PPD tests ever since I can remember. I used to think it was because of the BCG shot I got as a baby in China but a nurse told me (and a pediatrician I shadowed told me this as well) that a BCG shot shouldn't cause a positive PPD test at this point (meaning I was exposed to TB at some point in my life).

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Oh man. There is no way that testing positive will affect your acceptance. A good friend of mine actually mentioned getting TB in Africa in her interview. They'll definitely confirm you don't have active TB with X-ray if you convert, but don't worry about it.