Effect of different solvents on skin test results of tetanus antitoxin prepared

Objective To observe skin test results of tetanus antitoxin prepared by different solvents.Methods Patients who needed injecting tetanus antitoxin as required by trauma were randomly divided into two groups, Group A and Group B, respectively. Group A was administered with tetanus antitoxin prepared by water for injection, while Group B with tetanus antitoxin prepared by saline. Skin test results were observed, the incidence of positive skin test results and self-inductance of pain intensity were compared.Results The incidence of positive skin test results in Group A was significantly higher than that in Group B (34.19% vs 17.50%,χ2=8.631,P<0.01), and the self-inductance of pain intensity were also greater than that in Group B. Patients with positive skin test results (40 patients) in Group A, were later injected tetanus antitoxin prepared by saline, 42.50% of them (17 patients) shown negative skin test results.Conclusions There might be a high false positive rate by using tetanus antitoxin prepared by water for injection; therefore tetanus antitoxin prepared by saline is recommended, for it could decrease the false positive rate, reduce unnecessary desensitization injections, alleviate patients' pain and improve nurses' work efficiency. Key words: Tetanus antitoxin (TAT); Skin test solution; Skin allergy test; Water for injection; Saline