Tuberculin Test in Children with Malnutrition

Abstract

Tuberculin tests with Heaf's multiple-puncture method, as well as intradermal tests with varying strengths of old tuberculin, were carried out on 402 children with severe malnutrition* From the radiological and bacteriological. findings 51 children (125%) were considered to have active tuberculosis. The Heaf test was positive in only 11 of these children, but the intradermal test using 100 tuberculin units was positive in a further 18. This confirms previous findings that tuberculin sensitivity is impaired in malnourished children, and suggests that a higher dose of tuberculin is more likely to elicit a positive response. © 1968, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.