Cutaneous testing in the elderly patient with tuberculosis.
A hypothesis is presented that the fully developed cutaneous reaction to tuberculin, as exemplified by diagnostic cutaneous testing in culture-positive patients with tuberculosis, is an "all-or-nothing" phenomenon. In the elderly, this characteristic is maintained, with the value of the test being limited only by an increase in anergy.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis*