A positive diaskintest in a child and an adult may mean that the patient has an inflammatory process, in some cases this indicates infection with a tuberculosis bacillus. If a similar reaction is observed in the baby, the parents despair and panic, but hasty conclusions about his condition cannot be made. You should immediately contact the clinic to conduct additional research.
Below is a photo of a positive diaskintest result in children.
What it is?
This is a modern tool used to detect latent types of tuberculosis. If earlier a mantoux reaction test was used for this purpose, now this method is gradually becoming obsolete. At the same time, thanks to a modern test, diagnostics are carried out and it is almost unmistakably established whether the patient is infected with tuberculosis bacteria. Such a test allows you to quickly diagnose pathology without the use of fluorography and other studies.
These bacteria are also called Koch's bacillus. They can be transmitted from a person with tuberculosis. Bacteria are transmitted through the air, through hygiene and household items, utensils, upon contact. Thanks to the diaskintest, you can determine the presence of the disease at the stage when it still does not appear in the patient.
Many consider diaskintest vaccination, however, this is not so. It is understood as a sample that determines inactive or active tuberculosis forms. In an adult or child, a positive diaskintest may be the beginning of chemotherapy to prevent the disease from moving to the active stage.
This test is immunological, protein antigens or allergens are injected under the skin to determine the body's immune response. If the answer is yes, we can say that the immune system already knows this antigen. The study almost directly indicates the presence of an active stage of the disease.
Features of the test
Testing for tuberculosis is done traditionally, like other similar tests. A diaskintest is done on any arm, an injection is injected into the forearm. When a person is right-handed, it is better to do a test on his left hand, and vice versa. This is done in order to reduce the likelihood of mechanical damage. There are cases when a test is carried out along with the mantle reaction, the samples are placed on different hands. However, in general, it does not matter on which hand the test is performed, the most important thing is that the patient does not provoke irritation itself and does not comb the injection site, thereby causing a skin reaction. A test is carried out with a thin needle, the drug is injected intradermally.
Study frequency
Currently, the Ministry of Health constantly uses this test, since it considers it the most reliable. You can conduct such a study at least once a year. The test is required for children from eight to seventeen years old every year. If you have a question about in what cases a study is conducted for an adult or a child, you can focus on the following norms:
- in case of a negative sample, the next injection can be carried out no less than two months later;
- after a month after any vaccination;
- in the presence of significant acute infectious diseases, a test can be done a month after the patient has recovered.
Those who are registered with a TB dispensary or with a TB specialist will test once every three months or once every six months. You can conduct a test from the age of one, if the patient received a positive reaction to the mantle.
Study Locations
Diaskintest can be carried out in:
- kindergarten;
- school;
- private clinic or clinic for children and adults;
- TB clinics and dispensaries;
- tuberculosis institute and centers.
Since children are particularly susceptible to illness, the Ministry of Health places particular emphasis on conducting research in child care facilities. Adult patients, including pregnant women, can perform the test when contact with an infected person has occurred, when observed in a TB dispensary.
What does a positive diaskintest mean in a child?
results
The patient is given a test, and then it is checked on the second or third day. There are several estimates of the result:
- normal negative result;
- dubious false positive;
- positive.
According to the test, the norm means a complete absence of reaction: there is no swelling, swelling and redness. It happens that the diaskintest is negative, and the mantle is positive in the child.
Depending on the day, the reaction is not of particular importance, since redness may appear on both the first and second days. In any case, this is a bad sign. Such a reaction in some cases becomes false positive.
The result obtained is a reaction of the immune system. With the latent form of the disease, a person will have a dynamic response. The formation of papules, redness can be noted within a few hours after the drug was administered. In both adults and children, the strongest reaction is observed after 72 hours.
A positive diaskintest in a child (pictured) makes many parents panic.
A negative result can also have external manifestations, including:
- noticeable trace from an injection;
- small bruise in the injection area;
- small colorless seal.
But most importantly - papule and redness are absent.
A doubtful or false positive result means that the patient has a slight reddening, however, the papule is absent. To make a final diagnosis, he is sent to a tuberculosis dispensary in order to conduct additional tests and do fluorography. After that, a diaskintest is repeated two months later.
What does a positive diaskintest look like in a child?
The result is manifested as redness and papules of different sizes at the injection site. If the papule is not more than four millimeters in diameter, then the result is doubtful. If the positive diaskintest is in the range of five to nine millimeters, this result is mild, which can be caused by a minimum concentration of pathogenic bacteria or a weakened immune system. If the reaction is 10-14 mm, then the diaskintest is positive, the average infection. From 15 to 16 indicates a strong infection. When a positive result looks like a large papule, ranging in size from 18 mm in children and 21 in adults, this indicates an extremely intense infection with Koch's bacillus, the disease progresses.
A positive diaskintest in a child can only be as a result of an active form of tuberculosis, it does not react to anything else, and therefore is the most accurate diagnostic method. With a doubtful, as well as a moderate positive result and the absence of detected signs of the disease, we can talk about the recent infection and the absence of noticeable changes in the body.
What to do if the diaskintest is positive in a child? Let's figure it out.
What to do?
Often parents panic when they get a positive result.
Firstly, you should make sure that the patient has a positive just such an analysis, not a mantoux. You do not need to confuse them. Mantoux is placed on one arm. It produces a reaction to both tuberculosis and BCG vaccination against it. Diaskintest is carried out identically, but already on the second hand. Evaluation of the results and technique of setting are the same. It differs only in the administered drug. Naturally, with an infection of the body with tuberculosis, the diaskintest is positive.
What is placed on which hand is entered in the children's card.
Actions with a positive result
When the parents still heard what they were very afraid to hear, they need to be prepared to devote the near future to examining the baby and the whole family. Each adult needs to do X-ray, a child, in addition to standard studies, a pulmonary tomogram and an ultrasound scan (layered x-ray images). With these materials you need to go to an appointment with a TB doctor, taking a patient with you. With a child you need to behave calmly and not to scare. To suggest that nothing terrible is happening. In extreme cases, pills are prescribed, which is also not dangerous for humans.
When the tests are good
However, mom should not relax with normal test results and a positive diaskintest. This picture is observed for the reason that a lot of time should pass from the time of introduction of mycobacteria to the determination of clinical changes in the body. That is, the patient may be infected, but it is very difficult to determine a tuberculosis infection. A positive diaskintest result in a child can sometimes be the only symptom of the onset of the disease.
Treatment
It is very important to immediately stop the growth of microbacteria and not start the process. Therefore, with a positive diaskintest in a child, treatment should be immediate. Antituberculosis drugs are prescribed. You need to take them without a break, otherwise drug resistance will develop. Then the mycobacteria that provoked tuberculosis in the child will get used to these pills. In this case, the infection will be difficult to treat, because the total amount of anti-TB drugs is small. They are usually prescribed in a comprehensive manner, for the complete removal of mycobacteria from the body, until it is used to the drug. Medications are taken strictly according to the instructions and instructions of the TB service.
Reviews
Parents say that BCG protects against severe forms of tuberculosis.
There were cases when there was a positive result of diaskintest and mantoux, and T-Spot blood tests showed a negative result. In this case, you need to donate blood, and only then make a decision about treatment.
If a disease is detected, treatment should not be delayed. Along with pills, the child should be prescribed vitamins for the liver.
You should not be afraid and panic, you need to establish the cause of the disease, diagnose and be treated. In most cases, the patient manages to prevail and return to normal health.