Questionable Value of Skin Testing as a Means of Establishing an Epidemiological Index of Tuberculous Infection

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A careful cooperative study, comprising Mantoux tests and X-ray chest films of about 6000 persons in each of 2 counties. Coffee County in S.E. Alabama and Giles in south central Tennessee, the former with a tuberculosis fatality rate approx. 1/6 of that in the latter county, has given disquieting and confusing results. P.P.D. made by 2 different pharmaceutical companies and 3 preparations of O.T. were employed. Both of the P.P.D. preparations gave surprisingly low percentages of positives considering the mortality rates of the counties and the skin test figures presented by investigators elsewhere. The results obtained with the 2 prepns. varied considerably and neither gave as high figures as did O. T. Still more disconcerting was the finding that no definite correlation could be shown between the skin tests and the presence of evident calcified pulmonary areas as indicated by X-ray. The authors stress the great irregularity of the findings and the necessity for further immediate study.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: