Reproducibility of the Tine tuberculin test. Research Committee of the British Thoracic Association.

The reproducibility of the tine tuberculin test was assessed by paired tests on 180 subjects. Using the recommended method of measurement, there was lack of agreement in 23%. The discrepancies were reduced to 18% using a different method. There were no examples of a subject with a negative response on one arm and a positive response on the other. The discrepant results always involved reactions classified as doubtful or intermediate on one are with a stronger or weaker reaction on the other. Thus there remains doubt about the ability of the Tine test to produce consistent reactions in tuberculin-positive subjects.