OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of MB Hallow Hole, an innovative PPD reading device in diagnosing TB using the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST)among pediatric patients seen at the Quezon City General Hospital (QCGH) Out Patient Department (OPD).

METHODS: Some 285 Pediatric Patients administered with PPD at the OPD were included in this study using convenience sampling from May to July 2008. The cut-off value in diagnosing PTB was set to >/- 8mm based on the 1997 National Consensus on Childhood Tuberculosis. Only one Pediatric Resident administered the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) and read the results. The Pediatric Resident used on both the Innovative PPD Reading Device (IPRD) and the Ballpoint Pen Method (BPPM) in reading the result of the TST of each patient enrolled in the study. Demographic data was taken during PPD administration. Questionnaire was filled up by the same Pediatric Resident. Data were encoded and tallied in SPSS version 10 for Windows. Descriptive statistics were generated for all variables. For nominal data, frequencies and percentages were computed. Comparison of the different variables under study was done using the Mc Nemars Test and Mann Whitney U test. Level of significance was set at p value of

RESULTS: Demographic data showed a greater percentage of patient belong to the 1-6 year old age groups, predominantly females and majority reported no history of exposure. The accuracy of IPRD in diagnosing TB was 100%. This means that IPRD was comparable with BPPM. When it comes to resistance and inducing fear and crying from the subjects it is much higher in BPPM than IPRD. The cooperation of the subjects was significantly high when the IPRD was used than BPPM, as well as the ease of measurement and time consumption as noted by the medical observer.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the reliability and quick interpretation of the innovative PPD reading, yielding 100% accuracy. The response towards the method of measuring is somewhat superior to the conventional ballpoint pen method.