CELLULITIS VERSUS POSITIVE PURIFIED PROTEIN DERIVATIVE - A CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The tuberculin skin test is one of the most widely used diagnostic aid s ever developed and remains the only technique of detecting Mycobacte rium tuberculosis infection other than actually culturing the organism , False-positives are an acknowledged problem, especially among health care workers (HCW), in whom rescreening can raise more questions than answers. A HCW presented with a severe response to an annual screenin g test and was retested 6 weeks later with normal results (non-reactiv e), Causes of false-positives (not including cross-reactivity) are dis cussed, Readers of the purified protein derivative reaction need to co nsider alternative explanations for a significant response than infect ion with tuberculosis, given the medical history and nature of respons e.