Tuberculosis Exposure

Nurses Safety

Published

Hello,

My name is Kyle and my fiance is a LVN in Texas (she's doing LTC). She just found out tonight that her boss knowingly hired a person with tuberculosis who starts treatment tomorrow. This person has been working there for the past week.

I have so many questions and I'm so full of rage, and I want to know if I'm making a big deal out of nothing...

What do we do? What if she gets sick? We have a four year old and nothing is scarier than thinking about her being infected with a deadly disease because her mom's boss wanted to keep the schedule full and let this infectious person work there.

This "boss" was also under the impression that tuberculosis was a blood-borne illness, not a highly-contagious airborne one.

Thanks in advance,

Kyle

I may be wrong about this, but if you're talking about the type of TB test that I'm assuming you're talking about, seeing a "huge" reaction on someone's arm means next to nothing. All kinds of things can cause a large red or bruised looking area at the test site, but the thing that indicates a possible "positive" test is the size of the lump (a.k.a. 'area of inclusion') which is usually slightly under the skin. Unless this coworker physically palpated the area of the skin test, there was no way for him/her to make any diagnosis whatsoever.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I may be wrong about this, but if you're talking about the type of TB test that I'm assuming you're talking about, seeing a "huge" reaction on someone's arm means next to nothing. All kinds of things can cause a large red or bruised looking area at the test site, but the thing that indicates a possible "positive" test is the size of the lump (a.k.a. 'area of inclusion') which is usually slightly under the skin. Unless this coworker physically palpated the area of the skin test, there was no way for him/her to make any diagnosis whatsoever.

Three years since this thread but this is correct. It's not the size of the "visible" reaction but the size of the induration which can only be determined by palpation.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Zombie thread!

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Zombie thread!

Ye'up. I do prefer "zombie reincarnation thread" to "necro thread ". ;)

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Specializes in NICU.

And isn't it true that TB is only contagious if it's pulmonary or laryngeal?

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Yes, that is true. Which is why a person can test positive, but not be contagious.

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