The relationship between the tuberculin test and the Kveim test in sarcoidosis in Ireland

The aim of this study was to correlate tuberculin reactivity with the Kveim test in sarcoidosis. Case records 1983–91 inclusive, of those patients with positive Kveim tests and recorded tuberculin tests in an acute regional general hospital serving south-west Ireland (counties Cork and Kerry) were reviewed. Of 39 patients with positive Kveim tests 28 (72%) were tuberculin negative to a test dose of 10 tuberculin units or more. The group was slightly though significantly younger (p <0.05) in age than the corresponding group (n = 11; 28%) with positive tuberculin tests. The incidence of tuberculin reactivity in the presence of Kveim reaction is higher than that expected for sarcoidosis. Corresponding studies in Britain and Scandinavia show a considerably lower tuberculin positive rate, which may be due to a lower prevalence of tuberculosis in these countries. However the younger age of the tuberculin negative group in our study may reflect a continuing decline in tuberculosis prevalence in south-west Ireland.