Tuberculin breakdown is a diagnostic method for determining a person’s sensitivity to tuberculosis bacteria. The test allows you to determine whether tuberculosis infection is present in the body. The most common test option is the Mantoux test.
What is called a bend of tuberculin test
Many parents, for the first time hearing a diagnosis of “turning a tuberculosis test,” ask what it is. The turn of a tuberculin test is the first positive test result, provided that before that the results were negative. The cause of a turn can be either a vaccination against tuberculosis, or infection with a disease. In any case, hearing this term, you should not panic: for the final confirmation of the diagnosis, the child needs to undergo several additional tests. And only after a full examination, the doctor will be able to make a final diagnosis.
Mantoux
Mantoux reaction is the response of the body to the ingestion of tuberculin. In the injection zone of the drug, a characteristic inflammation appears, caused by the blood cells responsible for the immune system. If a tuberculosis bacterium is present in the human body, the reaction of the body to an injection will be more intense and the test will show a positive result. By measuring with the help of a ruler the so-called papule (in simple terms, the “Mantoux button”), the degree of the human immune response to tuberculosis bacteria is determined. The Mantoux test is prohibited in the presence of skin or infectious diseases, as well as in patients suffering from exacerbation of allergies.
Test reaction in children
In most cases, the child's reaction to the injection is negative. In the remaining 30% of the children, the test gives a dubious or positive result.
The baby's body is exposed to tuberculosis bacteria at an early age. A distinctive feature of the Koch stick is the rate of penetration into the human body. With weak immunity, the infection quickly enters the body and lingers in it for life. The causative agent of tuberculosis may not manifest itself before the onset of favorable conditions for the spread. The process of contact of tuberculosis bacteria with the body of the child is very difficult. The high-risk group includes children under the age of 3 years. At this age, in 90% of cases, infection in the body leads to the onset of the disease.
All children vaccinated against tuberculosis undergo a tuberculin test every year.
Positive analysis result
The turn of a tuberculin test in children is a dynamic change in a negative result to a positive over time. The process consists of the following steps:
- As a result of the initial test, a dubious or negative result was diagnosed.
- A secondary examination showed an increase in inflammation of up to 15 mm.
- Subsequent verification showed an increase in papule by 5 mm compared to the second stage.
The diagnosis of “turning a tuberculin test” in children does not mean that the child has tuberculosis. An enlarged papule can sometimes be the result of an allergic reaction to an injection. But, as a rule, a turn indicates the presence of bacteria of the disease in the body of the child. To make a final diagnosis, the doctor prescribes an additional examination to the patient.
Opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
It is interesting to know the opinion of the famous pediatrician Evgeny Olegovich Komarovsky about the turn of the tuberculin test in children. The doctor says that a positive Mantoux test indicates the presence of a tubercle bacillus in the child's body. The process of increasing papules indicates the development of immunity. Further Komarovsky advises to conduct an additional examination of the child: undergo a thorough examination, take a blood test, and do a fluoroscopy. If these measures confirm the preliminary diagnosis, treatment with tuberculosis should be started. If the suspicions are not confirmed, the child is considered healthy and does not require additional measures for diagnosis and treatment.
Sometimes the attending physician has doubts about the diagnosis. This often happens when an X-ray image cannot be interpreted unambiguously. In this case, Evgeny Olegovich advises to conduct a prophylactic course of treatment with Isoniazid. A turn of a tuberculin test has a chance to develop into real tuberculosis over time. It may take 5, and sometimes even 10 years, and the untreated at the time of the rudiments of the disease will turn into a real terrible disease.
The probability of this process is 0.5%, but nevertheless, in most cases, doctors are reinsured and prescribe an antibiotic for children. In this situation, Dr. Komarovsky advises parents not to trust doctors, who are often incompetent, and make their own decisions.
The use of "Isoniazid"
The process of treating tuberculosis is lengthy, especially since upon completion the patient needs an additional rehabilitation course. Therefore, the prevention of tuberculosis is a priority than the process of its treatment. Treatment of a turn of a tuberculin test in children with Isoniazid is an important component of TB control. Studies prove that the use of Isoniazid can reduce the likelihood of developing tuberculosis by 90% in people who have previously been infected.
The drug affects the bacteria of tuberculosis, which are at the stage of reproduction, and also destroys the microorganisms of the disease in the resting phase. High efficacy of the drug is noted not only in the treatment of tuberculosis, but also during prophylaxis. It is important to understand that the use of Isoniazid should be carried out only in those situations when the diagnosis showed clear risk factors for the development of this disease. The drug is indicated only for patients whose diagnosis allows infection with tuberculosis bacteria or suggests the likelihood of developing active forms of the disease.
"Isoniazid" is prescribed for children who have been in contact with carriers of the disease. 3 months after the course of treatment, the child is shown a Mantoux test. The course of prophylactic administration of the drug for children is 2 months. "Isoniazid" is taken in an amount up to 10 mg per kilogram of body weight of the patient per day.
Risk of infection from a child
Numerous studies by epidemiologists show that in the classic course of tuberculosis, children rarely infect other children or adults. Children's cough practically does not contain sputum, and a weak cough push in a child is not able to spray particles of bacteria in the air. At the same time, adolescents with extensive foci of the disease can transmit the disease. When detecting pulmonary tuberculosis in a child, many doctors recommend isolating the young patient. However, it was proved that such a measure is superfluous: a turn of a tuberculin test in children is very rarely transmitted.