PPD skin test
Alternate Names : Purified protein derivative standard, TB skin test, Tuberculin skin test, Mantoux test
Risks
There is a very small risk of severe redness and swelling of the arm in people who have had a previous positive PPD test and who have the test again. There also have been a few cases of this reaction in people who have not been tested before.
Special Considerations
A positive skin test does not necessarily mean that a person has active tuberculosis. More tests must be done to check whether there is active disease.
Many people who were born outside the United States may have had a vaccine called "BCG," which can lead to a false-positive test result. However, many experts believe that a past BCG vaccination should not change the interpretation of the PPD result when the test is done 15 years or more after the BCG vaccination.
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