J Korean Pediatr Soc.  2000 Nov;43(11):1418-1422.

Tuberculin Reactivity to 2 TU PPD RT23 Following Intradermal BCG Vaccination in Neonates

• Lee JH
• Oh SH

Abstract

PURPOSE: 2 TU of PPD HTZ3 has been substituted for 5 TU of PPD RT23 since 1998 in Korea without adequate evaluation. This study was undertaken to evaluate the tuberculin reactivity to 2 TU of PPD RT23 following intradermal BCG vaccination in neonates. The results were compared with the previous report generated with 5 TU of PPD RT23 in 1993.
METHODS
Two hundred neonates born from October 1998 to April 1999 in Hanyang University Hospital were vaccinated with O.lmL of BCG(Institute Merieux, France) intradermally and tested for tuberculin response to 2 TU of PPD RT23 three months later.
RESULTS
Among the total 200 infants, 31 showed no response on Mantoux test and the remaining 169 infants showed induration in diameter of 7.52.4rnm in bell shaped distribution(155 fullterm infants : 7.7+/-2.3mrn, l4 premature infants :.5.2+/- 2.2mm). When the diameter of induration was equal to or greater than 5 rnm considered for positive tuberculin response, the positive rate of tuberculin response in fullterm infants was 80.7%(146/181 infants) and significantlv greater than 52.6%(9/19 infants) in prernature infants(P=0.0119).
CONCLUSION
Tuberculin reactivity to 2 TU of PPD RT23 on infants vaccinated with BCG during neonatal period appears to be lower than that to 5 TU of PPD RT23 reported previously, indicating that a new criteria for tuberculin reactivity to 2 TU of PPD RT23 should be established in future studies.

Keyword

Tuberculin response; BCG; Tuberculosis; PPD

MeSH Terms

Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn*
Infant, Premature
Korea
Mycobacterium bovis*
Tuberculin*
Tuberculosis
Vaccination*
Tuberculin