[Guidelines for tuberculin diagnosis. Consensus paper of the Austrian Society of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis].

Three facts made new guidelines for tuberkulin skin-testing in Austria necessary: the low incidence of tuberculosis, the stop of routinously performed BCG-vaccination in neonates and the increasing importance of infections with atypical mycobacterials. According to analogous guidelines in Germany, Switzerland, the USA, and other countries and related to the Austrian specifities in tuberculosis situation the authors present guidelines thought as a consensus-paper of the Austrian Societies for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis and for Pediatrics. The most essential guideline include that tuberkulin skin testing as a screening method with multiple puncture tests cannot further be recommended, and that the Mendel-Mantoux-test is the gold standard test. Only this test is sensitive and specific enough for case-finding and for giving indication to start a preventive or curative chemotherapy. The cut-off size of reactive areas for positive Mendel-Mantoux tuberculin-reaction are presented in this paper and also the consequences what is to decide in relationship to the test result.