For those with children who went thru sputum at SLEC.

[apple21 953]

My cousin's 10-yr old son is undergoing the 3rd-day sputum sample at SLEC now. He tested positive for primary complex on the skin test and chest xray. The sputum results will be released on Monday.

She was told that if the results were negative, her son will be given a "medical clearance" and vaccines will be administered and they can proceed with their interview which is next week.

I'm NO expert in this sputum thingy and I have no first-hand experience in dealing with it. All I understand is that the 8-week culture is mandatory. Is the process of determining sputum result different for kids?

Thanks in advance. Hope this will be useful for others as well.

[Al422 221]

No it is not. Sputum is sputum. It takes 8 weeks for the sputum culture test to do its thing.

TB skin test has a horrible track record of false positives. Why they even bother with that when they have state of the art xray machines that supposedly give less radiation than a day at the beach I don't know.

But the xray machines give a lot of false positives too. I would probably get flagged by the xray machine because I had bronchitis last winter that left scar tissue. Still this clears most people and it only takes a day, so I can see its value.

Sputum doesn't lie, but it is a nasty slow test. That is why it is the last resort. But if it shows positive, the way to look at it is that St. Luke's just saved your son's life. TB kills. Make no mistake about that.

[Sweetheart75 0]

And so if u become positive on TB is that mean they will not allow the kid to travel to US and if so for how long? Is it until they finish the medications for 6 or 9 months?

[Al422 221]

Unfortunately yes. Please bear in mind that TB is airborne and highly contagious.

[apple21 953]

I'll keep you guys posted. They will get the results on Monday.

[Al422 221]

I'll keep you guys posted. They will get the results on Monday.

I wish you luck. But just remember that if they find TB that would have otherwise gone undetected, they saved the boy's life.

[RonnieKris 26]

And so if u become positive on TB is that mean they will not allow the kid to travel to US and if so for how long? Is it until they finish the medications for 6 or 9 months?

Yes. My wife's friend just finished the TB positive test fiasco. Her fiance' paid for two other test and different medical facilities and both were negitive, so don't wast your money thinking St. Lukes will accept test that are negitive.

If I remember correctly she was about 8 months from positive to clearance.

[Elsevier 0]

My cousin's 10-yr old son is undergoing the 3rd-day sputum sample at SLEC now. He tested positive for primary complex on the skin test and chest xray. The sputum results will be released on Monday.

She was told that if the results were negative, her son will be given a "medical clearance" and vaccines will be administered and they can proceed with their interview which is next week.

I'm NO expert in this sputum thingy and I have no first-hand experience in dealing with it. All I understand is that the 8-week culture is mandatory. Is the process of determining sputum result different for kids?

Thanks in advance. Hope this will be useful for others as well.

If his sputum smear results turn out negative then good for him. As far as I know, children with positive chest x-ray but with negative AFB smears are not considered infectious so they may not undergo sputum culture for 2 months. The panel of physician will have to decide about it though.

It's different when it comes to adults. My 3-day sputum exam were negative for AFB smear but it required me to wait 2 months for the sputum culture and thankfully they were negative as well.

Before I did my medical at St. Luke's Extension Clinic a few months ago, I thought of having a routine chest x-ray in another hospital but didn't do it because I know SLEC would see my lung scarring anyway and have to abide by their additional test for it. I've endured the 3-day sputum smear, the 2-month culture and it paid off. Had my interview and now my visa on hand.

[Al422 221]

Many people cried foul when SLEC xray detected an abnormality that their local doctor's xray did not detect, but what is happening is that the SLEC machine is just better and sees more.

Also bear in mind that these procedures are not at the discretion of the individual medical center. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) mandates the procedure, step by step, and SLEC as well as the other exam facilities around the world must comply.

[Petelito 0]

No it is not. Sputum is sputum. It takes 8 weeks for the sputum culture test to do its thing.

TB skin test has a horrible track record of false positives. Why they even bother with that when they have state of the art xray machines that supposedly give less radiation than a day at the beach I don't know.

But the xray machines give a lot of false positives too. I would probably get flagged by the xray machine because I had bronchitis last winter that left scar tissue. Still this clears most people and it only takes a day, so I can see its value.

Sputum doesn't lie, but it is a nasty slow test. That is why it is the last resort. But if it shows positive, the way to look at it is that St. Luke's just saved your son's life. TB kills. Make no mistake about that.

8 weeks waiting is well worth the discovery and treatment of a fatal illness such as TB. My grandfather died when my father was 12 from TB so it is serious business.

[apple21 953]

Update: My nephew's sputum samples turned out negative. He already got the vaccines and they're good to go to their interview. No need for sputum culture.

Edited May 26, 2014 by apple21

[Petelito 0]

Awesome news!!!

[apple21 953]

Awesome news!!!

Thanks.

[apple21 953]

If his sputum smear results turn out negative then good for him. As far as I know, children with positive chest x-ray but with negative AFB smears are not considered infectious so they may not undergo sputum culture for 2 months. The panel of physician will have to decide about it though.

It's different when it comes to adults. My 3-day sputum exam were negative for AFB smear but it required me to wait 2 months for the sputum culture and thankfully they were negative as well.

Before I did my medical at St. Luke's Extension Clinic a few months ago, I thought of having a routine chest x-ray in another hospital but didn't do it because I know SLEC would see my lung scarring anyway and have to abide by their additional test for it. I've endured the 3-day sputum smear, the 2-month culture and it paid off. Had my interview and now my visa on hand.

What you said is true. My nephew's sputum samples turned out NEGATIVE so there's no need for the 8-week culture. Thanks for the info.

[Al422 221]

Yes. My wife's friend just finished the TB positive test fiasco. Her fiance' paid for two other test and different medical facilities and both were negitive, so don't wast your money thinking St. Lukes will accept test that are negitive.

If I remember correctly she was about 8 months from positive to clearance.

No they will not accept any other facility's test. St. Luke's is God, and their word is final.