There is a neck swelling and Mantoux test shows 15 mm raised surface. Can it be TB?

Question

Hello doctor,

My mother has gone for the Mantoux test and the report stated 15 mm raised surface. There is a swelling on the left side of the neck near the shoulder. Firstly we went to a homeopath because we thought that it is a stone. After 3 to 4 days it started paining after that we went to the mentioned doctor. He has given those medicines and has written some of the tests. And now he has written a new test called FNAC (which I do not know). So today my mother has gone for the test and yet the report is pending.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have reviewed your query and here is my advise. The swelling could be due to infective enlarged lymph nodes, reactive node enlargement or tuberculosis. You cannot rely on the Mantoux test. It is not the test for tuberculosis. To confirm tuberculosis and to rule out the nature of lesion you need to investigate with fine needle aspiration cytology. In this investigation, a needle is inserted into an enlarged node and material taken outside over slide which is stained and examined under the microscope. It is five minutes OPD procedure, so do not worry about that.