Can you work as a nurse with a positive TB test?
Yes, a TB test, and an examination if necessary, may be completed instead of submitting to a TB risk assessment. If someone has a positive TB test, can he/she start working before the chest x-ray is completed? No, the x-ray must be completed and the person determined to be free of infectious TB prior to starting work.
Can you be a nurse with tuberculosis?
Nurses who have a positive TST but are asymptomatic should be evaluated further and can continue to work while tests are being done to rule out TB. Nurses with a positive TST but no known risk factors and negative chest X-rays have latent TB. They’re considered not infectious and can continue to work.
What to do if TB blood test is positive?
If you have a positive skin or blood TB test, your doctor may give you a chest X-ray. They’ll look for spots on your lungs or any changes caused by TB. You may also take something called a sputum smear or culture test. Your doctor will take a sample of the mucus that comes up when you cough and test it for TB bacteria.
How serious is a positive TB test?
A positive TB test result means only that TB bacteria has been detected. It does not indicate whether the person has active TB or a latent infection. This requires additional testing. TB disease can be diagnosed by medical history, physical examination, chest X-ray, and other lab tests.
When Should healthcare workers be screened TB?
All health care personnel with a known exposure to TB disease should receive a TB symptom screen and timely testing, if indicated. Health care personnel with a previous negative TB test result should be tested immediately and re-tested 8 to 10 weeks after the last known exposure.
Can I work if I have latent TB?
Since people with latent TB infection cannot spread TB to others, nothing further will need to be done in the workplace. However, if the employee has TB disease, the TB control program may start a contact investigation.
Can a person with TB go to work?
People with TB disease should be excluded from school, day care or the work place until the sputum is negative (about 2-4 weeks after the beginning of treatment).
How long is a TB blood test good for?
California State law requires that current tuberculosis (TB) clearance test results are on file and must be renewed every four years.
What if I have a negative test for TB?
If your reaction to the second test is negative, you probably do not have TB infection. What if I have a positive test for TB infection? If you have a positive reaction to the TB blood test or TB skin test, your doctor or nurse will do other tests to see if you have TB disease. These tests usually include a chest x-ray.
Can you test for tuberculosis (TB) with a skin test?
Generally, it is not recommended to test a person with both a TB skin test and a TB blood test.
How do I choose the best TB test?
Factors in selecting which test to use include the reason for testing, test availability, and cost. Generally, it is not recommended to test a person with both a TB skin test and a TB blood test. The TB skin test is also called the Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST). A TB skin test requires two visits with a health care provider.
What are the different types of TB tests?
There are two types of tests for TB infection: the TB skin test and the TB blood test. A person’s health care provider should choose which TB test to use. Factors in selecting which test to use include the reason for testing, test availability, and cost.