Tuberculosis Testing And Treatment

A tuberculosis skin test is done to determine if a person has been exposed to tuberculosis. This test is part of the hiring process for many companies, especially hospitals and any health care facilities. Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that travels through the air from one person to another.

A positive TB skin test does not mean that the person has the TB bacteria, only that they have been exposed. Follow-up testing must be done in order to tell whether or not the person has latent TB infection (the bacteria is living in the body without making them sick) or the TB disease (the bacteria has progressed and become active). There are many people who have the latent disease that never become sick with the active bacteria.

The common symptoms of TB are:

• Coughing up blood or secretions
• A cough that last longer than 2-3 weeks
• Pain in the chest area
• Fatigue or weakness
• Loss of weight
• Poor appetite
• Chills
• Fever
• Night sweats

Complications can arise if the person infected with the bacteria is already compromised. People that had the TB bacteria previously and were not correctly treated, run a higher risk for the disease to become active. HIV patients that already have a compromised immune system and alcohol and illegal drug abusers, are definitely at a higher risk for complications. Any person that has a disease such as diabetes or any person that is immuno-compromised, needs to be very careful not to be exposed to the TB bacteria.

Tuberculin skin testing is done with the use of a serum for testing (tuberculin) and a tuberculin syringe. The skin test is done using .10 ml of the serum, injected with a tuberculin syringe into the lower part of the inside of the arm.

After 48 to 72 hours the test needs to read by a trained professional to look for a reaction on the arm. If the area is raised, hard or swelling, the area is measured. If the area is reddened, but not raised and hard, it is not considered positive. If the skin test is positive, additional tests are needed to determine if the infection is latent or the TB disease. If the test is negative, this means that the body did not react to the test and that TB is unlikely.

Both latent and progressive TB can be treated. People who have latent TB cannot spread it to others, but if it becomes active they can. That is the reason that these people are often given treatment. Treatment for these people is easier, because they don't have as much of the bacteria in their bodies as someone with active TB.

There are currently 10 drugs that are approved for treatment of active TB. The most common are isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. The treatment usually last about 6 to 9 months. It is very important for people to finish the treatment as prescribed. If they don't, the TB bacteria could still be alive and become even more resistant to those drugs.