Tuberculosis or TB is one of the most distressing illnesses that affect the human respiratory tract. This world has suffered a lot at the hand of TB and many lives have lost their battle against this disease. Like many other respiratory diseases, TB spreads through droplet infection and causes serious harm to the entire respiratory tract.
An interesting but distressing fact about TB is that it doesn’t confine to the lungs. It can affect our spine, and our intestines, and make us lead a miserable life. TB causes great disability and distress and spreads in the community very easily, especially where we have poor sanitation and poor quality of life.
There was a time when TB was considered a disease with no cure because no one was able to detect the characteristics and the cure of the mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for causing TB. Thanks to the advancements in the field of medicine and the development of anti-tuberculous drugs we have made us able to treat TB and eradicate the bacteria completely. Many developed countries have gotten rid of this disease but there is still a large number of poor or developing countries where TB is still taking a toll on their finances and population.
Why do we want an early Detection of TB?
It is a matter of utmost importance that a patient with TB is diagnosed well in time. We want it because we don’t want to spread the infection through an unnoticed and undiagnosed patient of TB. We also don’t want a patient with TB to suffer from the extreme complications of the disease and the disability caused by it. Early detection of TB includes a thorough history and examination by the GP, Chest X-ray with good exposure, and a Monteux test.
What is a Monteux test?
Screening for tuberculosis is done by the skin test which we very commonly referred to as the Monteux test. The suspected patient of TB especially those who have a history of TB contact is given subcutaneous tuberculin and then the induration is noted after 72 hours. The diameter of this skin induration is measured which helps in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. A skin induration greater than 10mm is considered a possibility of previous TB or active TB which is confirmed by microscopy.
TB skin test form
TB skin test form is used while screening a suspect of TB through the Monteux test which is commonly known as the TB skin test. This form definitely begins with the information of the patient whose screening has been planned. The name, age, gender, and address are required as the routine part of all the medical forms.
Some TB forms are really smart to want to enter a brief history of the patient that has led to the foundation of why the TB skin test is being performed.
The usual dose of the tuberculin test is mentioned along with the date and time of the test performed. After 3 days are passed, the induration is measured and noted in the TB skin test form. This form is then duly signed by the concerned person.