A patient tells the nurse she had the bacilli Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination as a child because her mother had tuberculosis. How will this patient be screened for tuberculosis?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Patients who have received the BCG vaccine may have a false-positive reaction to the PPD test (Mantoux test) because the vaccine contains a strain of Mycobacterium bovis, which can cause a reaction similar to that caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Therefore, a chest X-ray is a more reliable method for screening for active tuberculosis in individuals vaccinated with BCG, as it can help identify the presence of active pulmonary tuberculosis without the risk of a false-positive skin test.

A Patient Tells the Nurse She Had the Bacilli Calmette-Guérin