All issues > Volume 43(11); 2000

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2000;43(11):1418-1422. Published online November 15, 2000.

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

Jong Hwa JH Lee¹, Sung Hee SH Oh¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
: 2 TU of PPD RT23 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 0.1mL of BCG(Institute Meriéux, 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 7.5¡¾2.4mm in bell shaped distribution(155 fullterm infants : 7.7¡¾2.3mm, 14 premature infants : 5.2¡¾2.2mm). When the diameter of induration was equal to or greater than 5 mm considered for positive tuberculin response, the positive rate of tuberculin response in fullterm infants was 80.7%(146/181 infants) and significantly greater than 52.6%(9/19 infants) in premature 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.

Keywords :Tuberculin response, BCG, Tuberculosis, PPD