Is there interference in the interpretation of the tuberculin skin test in children with intestinal parasitic infestation?

Abstract

Background: Infestation by intestinal parasites could be a cause of a false-negative tuberculin skin test (TST) result.

Objective: To evaluate TST results in a population of immigrants and internationally adopted children and to analyze whether intestinal parasitic infestation may modify or not TST results.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study which includes adopted children or immigrants evaluated in our hospital between January 2003 and December 2008. The TST was considered as the dependent variable and independent variables were gender, age, geographical origin, bacille Calmette–Guérin scar, nutritional status, immune status, and intestinal parasitism.

Results: One thousand and seventy-four children were included, of whom 69·6% were female. There was a bacillus Calmette–Guérin scar in 79% of the children and in 20·3% intestinal parasites were found. There were no differences in TST results among infested and non-infested children.

Conclusions: Intestinal parasitic infestation did not change TST results in our study and these results coincide with recent articles regarding questionable interference that intestinal parasitic infestations may produce on TST results.

Keywords:

• Tuberculin test
• Parasites
• Child
• Tuberculosis