Postive PPD, what did/would you do? Would you take INH?

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Hello,

Long time stalker, first time writer here.

Ok to cut to the chase I've tested positive for a PPD twice and now I have a choice between taking 9 months of INH or doing nothing.

The pros of taking the treatment are that the medicine is free and it's suppose to significantly decrease one's chances of getting an active TB infection.

The cons are that the treatment takes a long time, it has the potential to mess up your liver enzymes. I'm not as worried about that though because the health department told me that they take a baseline of your liver enzymes and then recheck it through the treatment. I've heard from people that have taken the treatment that the main side effect is malaise. That doesn't sound awful but the idea of being sickly and fatigued for 9 months doesn't thrill me.

So I'm looking for input from people that have tested positive on a PPD and what you ultimately decided to do about it.

I'm considering paying for an inteferon gamma release assays out of pocket, but if I'm reading this information from the CDC correctly even that test isn't full-proof.

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

Can't give medical advice here sorry.

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Specializes in Hospice / Psych / RNAC.

We can't give medical advice but we can relate personal experiences to each other. In my case I tested positive and didn't do the treatment. Where I am many of the nurses tested positive and I know only one nurse who did do the treatment. It's almost ominous to find out your positive but in reality we positives live just like everyone else.

I'm fine and healthy and will do the chest x-ray prn to monitor but I don't anticipate any problems. When and if I start exhibiting the symptoms of being positive then at that time I will do the treatment. In the meantime it's put on the back burner as a lesson that in nursing we can pick up anything from the patients no matter how careful we are.

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Specializes in Hospice.

I've taken care of people with active and fatal Tb and tested positive myself. I took the med in a heartbeat.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

This thread is definitely bordering on medical advice...

But if it were me, I'd go get the X-ray first and see what I'm dealing with before I decided to take any medication. A positive PPD doesn't necessarily mean you have active TB.

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Hello. I agree with the writers who say it is best for us not to give medical advice on forums. A good resource for your questions about management of a positive TB skin test is your city health department. Another idea for input is to talk with your nursing supervisor about the guidelines of your facility regarding employees with positive TB skin test readings. I have experienced a positive TB skin test and later learned that the cause was exposure to a patient who did not even know she had TB. Unfortunately, exposure to "stuff" is sometimes part of the world of nursing. Best wishes!

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I didn't read this as "please give me your professional opinion" but more as "fellow nurses, what would you do". Personally, I lean toward tyvin's way but thankfully not something I've had to deal with at this very early stage of my career. Best wishes to you!

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Giving medical advice is giving medical advice, eg. you should take this medication, have this surgery... Giving personal accounts is just that, eg. This is my experience with that.

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Specializes in Oncology.

I know a guy in nursing school who was exposed to a patient with TB and his program required that he take the treatment. He was on medication throughout his summer break after graduation and couldn't drink at all at the celebrations, so he was not a happy camper. And he was also tired a lot but dealt with it.

Also I think there's nothing wrong with sharing personal anecdotes about something like this as it's an important and likely situation in nursing.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

personally, not professional advice... I love to drink beer and I have a bad knee and take tons of meds for knee pain... so I can't hit my liver with another drug. I'd get my personal doc to order an extra chest x-ray here or there and if any signs of active disease loomed possible, I'd have to get on the wagon, suck up the knee pain and hit the treatment....

but again, my own crazy advice is just what my own crazy self would do... not worth the 2 cent penny :D

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

This medical decision needs to be made between you and your PCP.

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