Author/Authors :
Alimagham، Masomeh نويسنده , , Aminiafshar، Saied نويسنده , , Gachkar، Latif نويسنده , , Sharafim، Kamran نويسنده Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sharafim, Kamran , Farahbakhsh، Mohammad نويسنده M.ScCandidate, Civil Engineering Department, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch Mashhad, Iran ,
Abstract :
Background:
Tuberculosis is an endemic disease in Iran which may occur more frequently among hemodialysis
patients. We have evaluated tuberculin skin test (TST) in hemodialysis patients in a university hospital in 2003-2004.
Materials and methods:
Sixty-seven hemodialyis patients were enrolled for tuberculin skin tests. Indurations were
measured 48-72 hours after the injection and then on the 7th day. Those with indurations less than 5mm in TST1 were
introduced for TST2.
Results:
Of 67 patients, 18(26.9%) had indurations of less than 5mm in TST1 and were introduce for TST2 among
whom 7 (39%) had an induration measured less than 5mm. Of 18 cases, 11 (61%) were revealed to have booster effect
that represent a ratio of 16% of all studied hemodialysis patients in our study.
Conclusion:
It seems that the second TST is a better indicator of infectivity in hemodialysis patients, especially for
patients who require repeated or annual estimation for M. tuberculosis infection.
