false postive Tb skin test??

[jesse14]

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I found out that after taking my 2 step Tb skin test that i'm positive. I had a CXR done which was clear and no abnormalities were found. The respirologist i saw decided to put me on Isoniazid. He said that "taking the bull by the horns" was the best approach with my positive test. I know the drug can have side effects such as liver toxicity and for the 9 months (yes, 9 whole months!!) i'm on the drug, i can't drink a drop of alcohol. 😱
Now, i don't really want to take INH, but i will if it means that i wont develop the full out TB infection. However, i do want to know if the initial skin test i took that came up positive might have been false?? Is there any possibility of that occuring?? Oh yeah, i never got that BCG vaccination as a child since i was born in Canada. Any thought??

Thanks guys!

 

[doc20]

the chances of reactivating TB in IC patient is less than 5%, I dont think there is any statistics for healthy patients, so it must be really really low.
and why are you worried about another postive PPD, just get a xray done everytime you need a test?

 

[anon-y-mouse]

I found out that after taking my 2 step Tb skin test that i'm positive. I had a CXR done which was clear and no abnormalities were found. The respirologist i saw decided to put me on Isoniazid. He said that "taking the bull by the horns" was the best approach with my positive test. I know the drug can have side effects such as liver toxicity and for the 9 months (yes, 9 whole months!!) i'm on the drug, i can't drink a drop of alcohol. 😱
Now, i don't really want to take INH, but i will if it means that i wont develop the full out TB infection. However, i do want to know if the initial skin test i took that came up positive might have been false?? Is there any possibility of that occuring?? Oh yeah, i never got that BCG vaccination as a child since i was born in Canada. Any thought??

Thanks guys!

Clearly this physician has never taken Isoniazid himself. Bull by the horns?! wtf mate. Oh, and I hope he told you to take B6 supplements as well. As for the false test, doesn't it depend on the diameter of the zone of induration? Of course I am not a 'respirologist'.

One of my friends had a positive PPD, but got another one done a couple of weeks later and it was negative. Take that for what it's worth.

 

[jesse14]

the chances of reactivating TB in IC patient is less than 5%, I dont think there is any statistics for healthy patients, so it must be really really low.
and why are you worried about another postive PPD, just get a xray done everytime you need a test?

what does IC mean?

 

[MadameLULU]

Closing. Please do not seek medical advice on SDN.