Summary
The Mantoux (tuberculin) test is a tool for screening for tuberculosis infection. Some times patients or even medical personal interpret the positive skin reaction to Mantoux test as an allergic reaction to injected diagnostic agent, rather than as an evidence of tuberculosis infection. The purpose of this article is to review the scientific literature on the most commonly used tuberculin PPD-RT 23 and the possibility of tuberculin or its components to cause an allergic reaction. This article reviews the history of tuberculin development, the most commonly used tuberculin types and their components. Also, the mechanism of action of tuberculin and the methodology of Mantoux test are described. We summarised scientific data on possible allergic reactions caused by tuberculin. Although there is a lack of new articles and research on this topic, the existing data allow us to conclude that allergic reactions to turberculin or its ingredients are very rare. Allergic reactions are most commonly caused by chinosol or polysorbate 80 (Tween 80). The result of the Mantoux test may be affected by environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation or infection. Also, a false-positive Mantoux reaction may be due to cross-reactions in the presence of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection or due to BCG vaccination. However, in most cases positive tuberculin reaction is the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.
