Tuberculin tine test

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Tuberculin skin test

Tuberculosis in the kidney

Tuberculosis in the lung

TB tine

If you have a negative test result, the area may be a little red, but will not be swollen and firm like a mosquito bite. This means you have not been exposed to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.

If you have been exposed to tuberculosis, the area will become red and swell like a mosquito bit in 48 to 72 hours. This is considered a positive test result. It means your body's immune system detected the substance injected under your skin. A positive TB tine test does not mean that you have active tuberculosis, only that you have been exposed at some point in the past.

A chest x-ray may be taken to evaluate whether you have active tuberculosis.

Once you have been exposed, all future TB tine tests will be positive. If you have a positive TB tine test, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you have a TB skin test, unless the first tine test had a blistering or very large reaction.

Review Date: 09/25/2006
Reviewed By: Charlotte Grayson, MD, Private Practice specializing in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease, Smyrna, GA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.