Skin testing for tuberculosis (TB) utilizes a form of the diagnostic reagent tuberculin. The multiple puncture technique is referred to as the Heaf, or tine test, whereas purified protein derivative (PPD-S) is commonly administered by intradermal injection, called the Mantoux technique after Charles Mantoux, who described the technique in the early part of the twentieth century. Old Tuberculin is used clinically only in the multiple puncture technique. PPD-S can also be used in some systems for multiple puncture, but the standard PPD-S solution should never be used in the multiple puncture technique as its concentration is not standardized for the technique. In the multiple puncture systems, only PPD-S designed for that system should be used. PPD-S occasionally is administered as "first strength" (1 TU) or "second strength" (250 TU) and is equivalent to a 1:100 concentration of OT. The clinical utility of first- and second-strength tuberculin is poorly defined. Intermediate-strength PPD-S remains the best studied. PPD-S, even when stabilized with Tween-80, is sensitive to light and to a certain extent to temperature. Thus it should be stored in a refrigerator.
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.