An Assessment of the Tuberculin Tine Test

¹ Division of Chronic Disease, U. S. Public Health Service to Oklahoma State Department of Health and the University of Oklahoma
² Department of Pediatrics, Children's Memorial Hospital, University of Oklahoma
³ Department of Pediatrics and the Children's Memorial Hospital, University of Oklahoma Medical Center

Old tuberculin 0.05 mg. applied in the form of the tine test as well as the intermediate strengths PPD-S (human), PPD-A (avian) and PPD-B (Battey) by the Mantoux method were applied simultaneously to 556 American Indian teenage students living in Oklahoma boarding schools. This group had a relatively high reactor rate to all antigens used. The average size reaction to the PPD-S antigen was almost three times greater than that of the anonymous mycobacterial antigens. By arbitrary criteria (tine 2 mm. equal PPD-S 5 mm.) there was 96.4 per cent correlation between the tine and the PPD-S. The individual skin test results of those 42 students whose atypical antigen reactions (5 mm. or more) were greater than their reactions to PPD-S are listed in order that the behavior of the tine test might be examined in group who show greater skin sensitivity to the anonymous mycobacterial antigen than the PPD-S antigen. A group of 265 infants and children in Oklahoma City, when tested simultaneously with PPD-S by the Mantoux method and old tuberculin by the tine test, showed no false positive reaction by the tine method.