Bushra Jamil, Salima Qamruddin, Arif R Sarwari, Rumina Hasan.
An Assessment of Mantoux test in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in a BCG-Vaccinated, Tuberculosis-Endemic Area.
Infect Dis J Jan ;17(1):18-22.

Setting: Outpatient clinics at a tertiary care referral center where Mantoux test was done as part of pre-employment medical examination and work-up of suspected tuberculosis. Objective: To assess the utility of Mantoux test in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis, in a BCG-vaccinated, TB endemic area. Design: A prospective, case-control study, conducted over a period of two years. For statistical analysis, patients with active tuberculosis were categorized on the basis of disease site and confirmatory tests. Results: The size of induration on Mantoux test was significantly different between patients with active TB and healthy individuals (p<0.05). Test sensitivity was highest at >5 mm induration; test specificity increased with increasing size of induration and was highest (86%) with induration of >15 mm for both pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB. ESR was also significantly higher (p< 0.05) in TB patients. Older patients without active TB were observed to have higher ESR and larger induration on MT. Conclusions: Mantoux test, with or without ESR, provides useful supportive evidence of active TB in patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB in our population.

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