Features and benefits of Diaskintest, before Mantoux test
The main difference between these two drugs is that a routine test for tuberculosis responds both to BCG vaccination and to an allergic reaction after it, which is why Mantou often shows a false positive result (60 to 80%). The modern test determines whether the child is ill or healthy, with 90% probability.
Many parents are worried about whether their child can get tuberculosis when taking the drug. However, there is no cause for concern: in Diaskintest there is no causative agent of this disease, so there is no minimum chance of getting infected with vaccination. On the contrary, this test allows to reveal the disease more accurately at its early stage with the so-called true infection, since it contains the antigens CFP10 and the associated ESAT6, which are found in strains of the mycobacterium tuberculosis themselves.
Today Diaskintest is used for suspected tuberculosis both for adults and children. Often it is prescribed for testing if the Mantoux test has given a positive or false positive result. Babies can be given this medication, starting with a one-year-old age.
It should be remembered about the contraindications to this test. These include epilepsy and dermatological diseases, acute manifestations of allergies, various infectious diseases. In the event that the baby recently had an acute respiratory viral infection, the sample is prescribed no earlier than one month after full recovery. Also, you can not vaccinate Diaskintest during the quarantine period if the child is attending a school or kindergarten.
It should be noted that Diaskin's trial is prescribed before preventive vaccinations, and not after them. If the test shows a negative result, you can safely vaccinate the child.
Diaskintest: what should be the result?
What the test showed should be evaluated by a doctor or a specially trained nurse. The check is carried out 72 hours after the vaccination: in the case of papules or hyperemia at the injection site, they are measured with a transparent ruler with millimetric divisions.
The results of Diaskintest on tuberculosis are interpreted in children as follows.
Negative is the result of a diaskintest in the case of complete absence of papules and hyperemia. In this case, a small reddening of up to 2 mm in diameter is considered acceptable (the so-called "knock-off reaction").
A positive result of a diaskintest is if the patient has a papule of any size. It can reach from 2 to 15 mm, and all this indicates that the patient can be infected. Nevertheless, the results of Diaskintest are not yet diagnosed by the doctor, besides they must be measured after 72 hours and no earlier. It often happens that the parents of the child, when they see his papule, are frightened, and she completely disappears by the time of measurement.
The doubtful result of a diaskintest is the formation of hyperemia, that is, redness. In this case, the child should be referred to the TB specialist for an additional examination for tuberculosis .
In addition, sometimes a child has a bruise at the injection site, which also affects the result of Diaskintest. The doctor can also interpret this ambiguously, although such cases are frequent and often mean only that the needle has entered a small blood vessel under the skin.