TB Exposure

APBT mom, LPN, RN · Nov 13, 2008

When I was in school about four girls from our class but at another site took care of a patient that was admitted for the "flu" they were there for about four hours in and out of the room with this guys hacking were told that he tested positive for TB and the x-ray showed it was active (proper names excaping me now). They all had to redo their PPD's and all came back negative. They all never wore PPE's except when changing him into a fresh gown.

Also when I was in MA school there was a student in my class that took care of her father who was eventually died from TB. Every time she had to do a PPD it would come back positive. X ray however was negative for the last 15 years. She also never wore PPE's as it was her father and she didn't want him to feel like she was afraid to touch him. There was a student in my class who also has a positive PPD and negative x ray.

Just because you've come in contact with come who has TB doesn't mean you're going to get it. At least in the hospital setting you know who has it eventually. However, when you're on the bus, in the movies, or at the store and there's a person hacking you'll probably never know what it's from.

toonces73 · Nov 13, 2008

Thank you for sharing your story APBT MOM!!!

oceansofenvy · Nov 13, 2008

I used to work in a distribution warehouse. One day we were all called into our break room and told that we had been exposed to TB for six months by someone who no longer worked there. Later that day two very wonderful nurses came in to start the testing. I've got to say these nurses were great. They had to test over 100 people and they were very understanding when someone had a million questions or was afraid. One of the girls I worked with had become very afraid of all things medical after her husband died after battling cancer for many years. They were really good at comforting her and calming her down. In the end no one had contracted TB. We had all been in close contact with the person who had TB, even when he was coughing heavily. We just though it was congestion.

Straydandelion · Nov 13, 2008

Has anyone had any exposure to TB and what was the outcome? For example, were you in a room with someone coughing while they had active TB and not wearing any protection? Please tell me your experience.

I worked in a small hospital where the floor was divided as far as patients. Part was postpartum. One of the mothers that just delivered was found to have TB. Not even the nurses in delivery contracted the disease, the molecules being so large they don't spread far.

queenjean · Nov 13, 2008

Twice I've known I've been exposed to TB at work. Each time it was a pt who was admitted with something else and days later found to have TB. None of us have contracted it yet!!!!

Flare, ASN, BSN · Nov 13, 2008

I had a positive ppd upon entering nursing school - been exposed to tb one time that i was informed of and had a chest x-ray that turned out negative. Because i already had completed the INH therapy after the + ppd that was all that was done.

Dorito, ASN, RN · Nov 13, 2008

I think to actually become infected you would need long term exposure in close proximity to the patient or infected person. Also, those with auto immune disorders would be at higher risk of developing it. Several of the nurses I work with have positive TB tests but they require yearly chest x-rays to confirm negative diagnosis.

silas2642 · Nov 13, 2008

If you have had exposure to someone with active TB at work, I think the wise thing to do would be to contact your employee health services. If it was at home, you probably want to talk to your doctor. Of course, it's very contagious and it may be necessary to go on prophylactic INH. If it becomes active, the treatment is much more complicated, the course of antibiotics more prolonged and with far more side effects.

mama_d, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2008

We've had several patients recently who denied symptoms but ended up with positive PPD/CXR. So far noone has had a positive PPD after caring for these people.

The worst one I had we immediately put on negative pressure isolation b/c he was actively coughing up copius amounts of blood. I nearly killed my tech when she kept going in and out of the room and leaving the door open, compromising the whole set up.

MauraRN · Nov 13, 2008

I was in nursing school 4 years ago when my PPD came back positive for the first time in my life. I was 47 years old and had many PPD's for teaching, traveling, adoption of international child. Unfortunately, we had a sadistic instructor that thought it funny to send us into pt rooms without arming us with the proper info claiming that we had to learn for ourselves. We did not have access to all of the patient info, like who had Hep C so we would sneak a look at the labs when we could, but were told we were violating HIPPA. So I was exposed to TB, MRSA, HEP C, HIV, scabies, etc. without my knowledge. I have not taken INH, I have nasty reactions to meds. Just getting my CXR yearly and hope this ticking time bomb never goes off.