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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2011 | Volume
: 21
| Issue : 2 | Page : 139-140 |
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Reaction size in tuberculin test positivity in hemodialysis patients - Authors' reply
SK Agarwal, S Gupta, D Bhowmik, S Mahajan
Department of Nephrology, AIIMS, New Delhi, India
| Date of Web Publication | 28-Jun-2011 |
Correspondence Address:
S K Agarwal
Department of Nephrology, AIIMS, New Delhi - 110 029
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-4065.82381
How to cite this article:
Agarwal S K, Gupta S, Bhowmik D, Mahajan S. Reaction size in tuberculin test positivity in hemodialysis patients - Authors' reply. Indian J Nephrol 2011;21:139-40 |
How to cite this URL:
Agarwal S K, Gupta S, Bhowmik D, Mahajan S. Reaction size in tuberculin test positivity in hemodialysis patients - Authors' reply. Indian J Nephrol [serial online] 2011 [cited 2022 May 27];21:139-40. Available from: https://www.indianjnephrol.org/text.asp?2011/21/2/139/82381 |
Sir,
We would like to thank the authors [1] for comments on our manuscript. [2] According to the 1995, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations [3] about the size of reaction of tuberculin skin test for diagnosing latent tuberculosis (TB) in high risk population >5 mm size is restricted to only three situations: persons who have had recent close contact with persons who have active TB, persons who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or risk factors for HIV infection but unknown HIV status, and those with fibrotic chest radiographs consistent with healed TB. In all other medical conditions including organ transplant, the size of reaction for diagnosis of latent TB was 10 mm. In a revision in 2005, [4] organ transplant recipients, and other immunosuppressed persons (e.g., persons receiving >15 mg/day of prednisone for >1 month) and TB suspects were added in the list of condition where criteria of >5 mm was applicable. However, even in 2005, chronic renal failure and other medical conditions still required >10 mm reaction for the diagnosis of latent TB. Further, in almost all studies on diagnosis of latent TB based on skin test in a dialysis population, >10 mm size has been used.
Thus, we do not feel that the basis of taking >5 mm reaction criteria for diagnosis of latent TB in dialysis populations will be appropriate.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Zaki SA. Chronic kidney disease, immunosuppression and tuberculin test sensitivity. Indian J Nephrol 2011;21:68. 
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| 2. | Agarwal SK, Gupta S, Bhowmik D, Mahajan S. Tuberculin skin test for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis during renal replacement therapy in an endemic are: A single center study. Indian J Nephrol 2010;20:132-6.
[PUBMED] |
| 3. | Screening for tuberculosis and tuberculosis infection in high-risk populations. Recommendations of the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. MMWR Recomm Rep 1995;44:19-34.
[PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] |
| 4. | Guidelines for preventing the transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in health-care settings. MMWR Recomm Rep 2005;54:1-141.
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