Talk:Heaf test

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It is requested that an image or photograph of the Heaf gun instrument used for administering the test, and pictures of the resulting marks on the skin (ideally multiple pictures for the different reactions) be included in this article to improve its quality. Please replace this template with a more specific media request template where possible.
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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 29 June 2020 and 21 August 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): DLPHAN, CSaeteurn, Future UCSF PharmD, SntnPhung, Cmueller6267.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 23:10, 16 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Confusing

The article says this at the top:

Patients who exhibit a negative reaction may be offered BCG vaccination

The problem is the discussion of the test in the next section doesn't say which grades/results are "negative". Could someone make some tweaks? --87.82.9.62 22:02, 23 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

from the article - The reading of the Heaf test is defined by a scale:

Negative - No induration, maybe 6 minute puncture scars

Grade 1 - 4-6 papules (also considered negative)

So, Negative and Grade 1 would be considered "negative" and everything else is "positive". Petersam 18:18, 24 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am confused also as it says grades 4 to 6 require follow up and x-ray.. but 4 - 6 is the desired and most common result isnt it? a positive reaction indicates there is no need for a BCG and this is what the majority of people have requiring no follow up. The negative results of 1 or 2 need a BCG and follow up don't they?

I think someone who knows more about all this needs to clarify the article for us. When I had a Heaf test in about 1998 (in the UK - in case location and its associated TB prevalence is relevant to these questions about what result most people get), the vast majority of people I knew were at the negative end of the scale about a week later and were given BCG. There were a couple of people who reacted to the Heaf test with a swelling of some kind (maybe a grade 2 but I don't recall exactly what they looked like), and they didn't receive BCG. When you say "this is what the majority of people have" it is ambiguous whether you are referring to most people having BCG, or most people having a positive reaction. If I understand the article right, the only people who get a positive reaction are those who have been exposed to TB in some form at some point in their lives. Something ought to go in the article about what the expected and unusual results are. Credulity (talk) 15:01, 31 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No-one I know needed x-rays and most of them had puss running down their arms! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.251.143.222 (talk) 09:55, 7 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

From the Bacille_Calmette-Guérin page, it sounds like negative is the desired result. Positive either means that you have TB (bad), you'll be allergic to the vaccine (bad), or you've already had the vaccine (unexpected). 76.21.93.198 (talk) 23:11, 24 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]