dr-exmedic.com

Just a note:  for those of you who didn’t already know this (and I know there are at least 2 of you), if a patient tells you he had TB ten years ago and has had clear chest X-rays every 6 months since, he doesn’t have TB.  Since he doesn’t have TB, you don’t need to wear your N-95 masks, and you most certainly don’t need to call ahead to the hospital and ask for an isolation room, which will invariably have someone in it when you ask, setting off a flurry of activity as we try to move the patient who doesn’t need a negative pressure room to make way for…a different patient who doesn’t need a negative pressure room.

So for future reference, if you ask about medical problems and someone says they have/had TB, make sure you clarify whether they have TB right now or not.