The Kveim test, Nickerson-Kveim or Kveim-Siltzbach test is a
skin test
A skin test is a medical test in which a substance is injected into the skin.
Examples
* Casoni test
* Corneometry
* Dick test
* Fernandez reaction
* Frei test
* Hair perforation test
* Kveim test
* Leishmanin skin test
* Lepromin
* Patch t ...
used to detect
sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis (also known as ''Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease'') is a disease involving abnormal collections of inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph nodes. Less commonly af ...
, where part of a
spleen
The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes . from a patient with known sarcoidosis is injected into the skin of a patient suspected to have the disease. If
non caseating granulomas are found (4–6 weeks later), the test is positive. If the patient has been on treatment (e.g.
glucocorticoid
Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every vertebr ...
s), the test may be false negative. The test is not commonly performed, and in the UK no substrate has been available since 1996. There is a concern that certain infections, such as
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...
, could be transferred through a Kveim test.
It is named for the Norwegian pathologist
Morten Ansgar Kveim, who first reported the test in 1941 using lymph node tissue from sarcoidosis patients. It was popularised by the American physician Louis Siltzbach, who introduced a modified form using spleen tissue in 1954. Kveim's work was a refinement of earlier studies performed by Nickerson, who in 1935 first reported on skin reactions in sarcoid.
A Kveim test may be used to distinguish sarcoidosis from conditions with otherwise indistinguishable symptoms such as
berylliosis
Berylliosis, or chronic beryllium disease (CBD), is a chronic allergic-type lung response and chronic lung disease caused by exposure to beryllium and its compounds, a form of beryllium poisoning. It is distinct from acute beryllium poisoning, wh ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Eponymous medical signs for respiratory system
Skin tests