Hello Sue,
Thank you for the quick replay. As to your first question, yes, there is every likelihood that this may limit my employment options in the future. I asked my employer for a retest and they denied the request, saying that even if it comes up negative on the second test, they will continue to believe the first positive test.
I then sought out guidance from my physician and my hospital’s ID expert. Both also informed me that hospital policy is to take the first positive result. They do not retest for any reason.
Therefore, I was left with testing outside of my employer and my insurance. I paid out-of-pocket for a Quest Quantiferon test. I’m still waiting on results. However, I’m not entirely confident in this test now. It seems that the longer I test negative, the more likely it will lead to a possible false positive. The question is, will that be enough? How long must I test negative before the original positive goes away. My fear is that it never will. Policies based on this test must be changed. I find this situation ridiculous and concerning. How many false positive patients are being treated with antibiotics they don’t need, in a time of widespread antibiotic resistance.
I feel like I have no options. Am I wrong? Any thoughts?