Studies of Pulmonary Findings and Antigen Sensitivity among Student Nurses: IV. Relationship of Pulmonary Calcification with Sensitivity to Tuberculin and to Histoplasmin

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Abstract
This study was made on 16,320 student nursing schools in 15 metropolitan areas. 23.2% had some reaction to histo- plasmin, 19.5% giving definite reactions. The rate varied from 65% in Kansas City, Mo., to 7% in Minneapolis. 15.5% gave definite reactions to tuberculin. The variation was from 22.8% in Philadelphia to 7.9% in Minneapolis. 9.5% showed pulmonary calcification with the highest rates in Kansas City and Columbus and the lowest in Minneapolis. Of the 1550 nurses with pulmonary calcification 35% were positive to both histoplasmin and tuber-culin, 33.2% to histoplasmin only, 10.7% to tuberculin only and 0.7% to neither antigen. One third of the nurses reacting to histoplasmin had calcification, while only 1/10 of those reaching to tuberculin showed calcification. The relationship between histoplasmin sensitivity and calcification in the lung parenchyma and mediastinal lymph nodes was closer than that found in tuberculin sensitivity.
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