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If someone has had a positive result for tuberculosis test by serum in the arm(ie it got swollen and hard) but chest xray showed nothing, which is more accurate?
Apr 30, 2013

Dr. Zakia Dimassi Pediatrics
The skin test for tuberculosis (TB) , also known as PPD, if positive, indicates that the individual carries TB but does not necessarily have an active infection, or that this person had received the TB vaccine (known as BCG) which is given in Europe and Gulf countries. The finding of something on the chest Xray means there's active TB infection in the lungs. So both show different things. If the skin test is positive we usually treat because of the rise in the number of TB infection in our part of the world.
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