Celiacs Who Work In A Hospital/or The Healthcare Field

[alamaz]

Ugh! I just recently started a new job at a hospital. I was dx'ed with celiac in late February of this year and am just now starting to feel REALLY good so it's taken some time to start to heal. Of course, TB testing is required for this job and I keep reacting positively or "inconclusive" to the tests except my chest x-ray is clear. The Quantiferon Golf test was inconclusive and the skin tests are all coming back positive. They are trying to tell me that they will have to treat me for latent TB which I don't believe is possible that I have latent TB because I have a history of having positive reactions to the TB skin tests all with clear chest x-rays and I've not been out of the country since 1995. In fact, when I lived overseas in the early 90's I was treated for a year for TB even though the chest x-ray was clear but I had reacted to the skin tests. At this rate I will be treated for TB indefinitely because I react positively to the skin tests.

I recall a post a few weeks ago about this same thing and several of you also react positively to the TB tests. What happens next? Is this just a matter of documenting the positive reaction? How does your hospital/workplace handle postive TB reactions?

As a side note, they just did the bubble test and I'm starting to get a severe headache. I'm not sure if it's celiac related or just stress but I never even thought to wonder if the bubble test has to be gluten free also......

Amy

[blueeyedmanda]

Hi Amy,

I work in a Hospital and I get a TB test every year, I always test negative.

[Guest j_mommy]

Amy....

I was that poster a few weeks ago!!! Are you getting it read by a nurse or DR????? My nurse thought it was positive but it was not.....raised area is what counts not redness...which was what was happening to me....I had a huge red area,slight bump and itched like crazy!!! So I went to a DR and he said it was negative but wrote me a prescription saying that due to some type of allergic reaction I am to have chest xrays from now on and that I have not had a positive reaction and do not need to be treated!!

I hope this helps!!!

PM me if you have more questions!

[little d]

Hi Amy

I work in a hospital and I just got my TB today and mine is just red around the site and I don't think that it had anything to do with it but right after I got really sleepy when I was fine before, but then again i did just work my 12 hr night shift. I will get mine read on thursday morning and I am usually negative but I feel like that this time I am having more of a reaction more redness this time and It itched some today.

donna

[Worriedwife]

I work in the healthcare field, and have not had a TB skin test done for about 13 years. I am allergic to the serum they use to test for TB. I only have chest X-rays done now.

I agree with I_Mommy, make sure you have a doctor read the results, not just a nurse. If it just red and/or itchy, that is not necessarily a positive reaction. You have to have a noticable bump from the test for it to be a positive reaction.

Good luck!

[uclangel422]

Before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I took a TB test at work in the hospital and it was read as positive. I had to have an X-ray and it came back negative so i was allowed to remain at work. My doctor did end up putting me on INH for TB because he wanted to be on the safe side. I was miserable on that medication.

From now on, tell them that you are prone to false positives on the skin test and just ask for an X-ray of your lungs yearly. My hospital has that option instead of the skin test.

[alamaz]

Thanks for the responses. The irritating thing is, I told them up front about my history of reacting positively so they did the chest x-ray and the blood test. the chest x-ray was clear, the blood test was "inconclusive". The last thing I want is to be treated for a disease I know I don't have and that's honestly my biggest fear at this point is they will try to tell me i need to go on meds. So far the bubble test is looking okay that i got yesterday afternoon (so i think, it looks like a mosquito bite). i will definitely request that the DR. look at it on Thursday instead of just the nurse who is actually really nice and just doing her job.