Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (735 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Epicutaneous or intradermal application of a sensitizer for demonstration of either delayed or immediate hypersensitivity. Used in diagnosis of hypersensitivity or as a test for cellular immunity.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Skin Test; Test, Skin; Tests, Skin.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Immunologic Tests
- Narrower topics
- Intradermal Tests; Local Lymph Node Assay; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis; Patch Tests; Skin Window Technique; Tuberculin Test
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 67,712 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Skin Tests” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 4,516 of them (6.7%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 41,325 records.
Reviews account for 4,627 records (6.8%) and meta-analyses for 158. Randomized controlled trials number 1,518 (2.2%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 41,325 |
| 2000-2009 | 11,683 |
| 2010-2019 | 10,188 |
| 2020 onward | 4,516 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 4,627 | 6.8% |
| Meta-analyses | 158 | 0.2% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 1,518 | 2.2% |
Method: PubMed query "Skin Tests"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in diagnostics and medical technology
A test or device is judged by how well it detects a condition, how often it gives false alarms or misses cases, and whether using it improves outcomes for people. Accuracy depends on who is tested and how common the condition is, so a test that performs well in a specialist hospital can perform differently in the community. Check the reference standard, the population studied, the sensitivity and specificity and whether results were confirmed in a separate group.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The impact of BCG vaccination on tuberculin skin test responses in children is age dependent: evidence to be considered when screening children for tuberculosis infection | 2016 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 56 | cc by PMID 27335104 · DOI · PMC5036222 |
| A defined antigen skin test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 51 | cc by PMID 31328169 · DOI · PMC6636981 |
| Diagnostic 'omics' for active tuberculosis | 2016 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 48 | cc by PMID 27005907 · DOI · PMC4804573 |
| European Society of Contact Dermatitis Guideline for Diagnostic Patch Testing-Recommendations on Best Practice (Update 2026) | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 4 | cc by PMID 42324086 · DOI · PMC13441402 |
The impact of BCG vaccination on tuberculin skin test responses in children is age dependent: evidence to be considered when screening children for tuberculosis infection [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundFollowing exposure to TB, contacts are screened to target preventive treatment at those at high risk of developing TB.
- Closing excerpt
- The revised TST cut-off recommended in the recent revision to the UK TB guidelines demonstrates good sensitivity but is associated with impaired specificity in BCG-vaccinated children.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (219 words)
BackgroundFollowing exposure to TB, contacts are screened to target preventive treatment at those at high risk of developing TB. The UK has recently revised its recommendations for screening and now advises a 5 mm tuberculin skin test (TST) cut-off irrespective of age or BCG status. We sought to evaluate the impact of BCG on TST responses in UK children exposed to TB and the performance of different TST cut-offs to predict interferon γ release assay (IGRA) positivity.MethodsChildren ResultsOf 422 children recruited (median age 69 months; IQR: 32-113 months), 300 (71%) had been vaccinated with BCG. BCG vaccination affected the TST response in IGRA-negative children less than 5 years old but not in older children. A 5 mm TST cut-off demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity in BCG-unvaccinated children, and an excellent negative predictive value but was associated with low specificity (62.7%; 95% CI 56.1% to 69.0%) in BCG-vaccinated children. For BCG-vaccinated children, a 10 mm cut-off provided a high negative predictive value (97.7%; 95% CI 94.2% to 99.4%) with the positive predictive value increasing with increasing age of the child.DiscussionBCG vaccination had little impact on TST size in children over 5 years of age. The revised TST cut-off recommended in the recent revision to the UK TB guidelines demonstrates good sensitivity but is associated with impaired specificity in BCG-vaccinated children.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 27335104 · DOI · PMC5036222
A defined antigen skin test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a major zoonotic disease of cattle that is endemic in much of the world, limiting livestock productivity and representing a global public health threat.
- Closing excerpt
- Together with the ease of chemical synthesis, quality control, and lower burden for regulatory approval compared with recombinant antigens, the results of our studies show that the DST considerably improves a century-old standard and enables the development and implementation of critically needed surveillance and vaccination programs to accelerate bTB control.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (149 words)
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a major zoonotic disease of cattle that is endemic in much of the world, limiting livestock productivity and representing a global public health threat. Because the standard tuberculin skin test precludes implementation of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine-based control programs, we here developed and evaluated a novel peptide-based defined antigen skin test (DST) to diagnose bTB and to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). The results, in laboratory assays and in experimentally or naturally infected animals, demonstrate that the peptide-based DST provides DIVA capability and equal or superior performance over the extant standard tuberculin surveillance test. Together with the ease of chemical synthesis, quality control, and lower burden for regulatory approval compared with recombinant antigens, the results of our studies show that the DST considerably improves a century-old standard and enables the development and implementation of critically needed surveillance and vaccination programs to accelerate bTB control.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31328169 · DOI · PMC6636981
Diagnostic 'omics' for active tuberculosis [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The decision to treat active tuberculosis (TB) is dependent on microbiological tests for the organism or evidence of disease compatible with TB in people with a high demographic risk of exposure.
- Closing excerpt
- In so doing, we aim to develop a framework to guide our approach to discovery and development of diagnostic biomarkers for active TB.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (217 words)
The decision to treat active tuberculosis (TB) is dependent on microbiological tests for the organism or evidence of disease compatible with TB in people with a high demographic risk of exposure. The tuberculin skin test and peripheral blood interferon-γ release assays do not distinguish active TB from a cleared or latent infection. Microbiological culture of mycobacteria is slow. Moreover, the sensitivities of culture and microscopy for acid-fast bacilli and nucleic acid detection by PCR are often compromised by difficulty in obtaining samples from the site of disease. Consequently, we need sensitive and rapid tests for easily obtained clinical samples, which can be deployed to assess patients exposed to TB, discriminate TB from other infectious, inflammatory or autoimmune diseases, and to identify subclinical TB in HIV-1 infected patients prior to commencing antiretroviral therapy. We discuss the evaluation of peripheral blood transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics to develop the next generation of rapid diagnostics for active TB. We catalogue the studies published to date seeking to discriminate active TB from healthy volunteers, patients with latent infection and those with other diseases. We identify the limitations of these studies and the barriers to their adoption in clinical practice. In so doing, we aim to develop a framework to guide our approach to discovery and development of diagnostic biomarkers for active TB.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 27005907 · DOI · PMC4804573
European Society of Contact Dermatitis Guideline for Diagnostic Patch Testing-Recommendations on Best Practice (Update 2026) [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The present guideline updates the initial ESCD patch testing guideline, summarizing all aspects of patch testing for the diagnosis of contact allergy in patients suspected of suffering, or having been suffering, from allergic contact dermatitis or other delayed-type hypersensitivity skin and mucosal conditions.
- Closing excerpt
- Finally, short reference is made to aspects of (continuing) medical education and to electronic collection of data for epidemiological surveillance.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (150 words)
The present guideline updates the initial ESCD patch testing guideline, summarizing all aspects of patch testing for the diagnosis of contact allergy in patients suspected of suffering, or having been suffering, from allergic contact dermatitis or other delayed-type hypersensitivity skin and mucosal conditions. Sections with brief descriptions and discussions of different pertinent topics are followed by highlighted short practical recommendations, which have been consensualized in a Delphi process. Topics comprise, after an introduction with important definitions, materials, technique, modifications of epicutaneous testing, individual factors influencing the patch test outcome or necessitating special considerations, children, patients with occupational contact dermatitis and drug eruptions as special groups, patch testing of materials brought in by the patient, adverse effects of patch testing and the final evaluation and patient counselling based on this judgement. Finally, short reference is made to aspects of (continuing) medical education and to electronic collection of data for epidemiological surveillance.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42324086 · DOI · PMC13441402
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article European Society of Contact Dermatitis guideline for diagnostic patch testing - recommendations on best practice [5]
- Research article Skin test concentrations for systemically administered drugs -- an ENDA/EAACI Drug Allergy Interest Group position paper [6]
- Research article False-positive tuberculin skin tests: what is the absolute effect of BCG and non-tuberculous mycobacteria? [7]
- Research article The global prevalence of latent tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis [8]
- Research article Penicillin and beta-lactam allergy: epidemiology and diagnosis [9]
- Research article The European baseline series and recommended additions: 2019 [10]
References
- Seddon JA, Paton J, Nademi Z, Keane D, Williams B, Williams A, et al.. The impact of BCG vaccination on tuberculin skin test responses in children is age dependent: evidence to be considered when screening children for tuberculosis infection. . 2016. PMID 27335104 · DOI · PMC5036222
- Srinivasan S, Jones G, Veerasami M, Steinbach S, Holder T, Zewude A, et al.. A defined antigen skin test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis. . 2019. PMID 31328169 · DOI · PMC6636981
- Haas CT, Roe JK, Pollara G, Mehta M, Noursadeghi M. Diagnostic 'omics' for active tuberculosis. . 2016. PMID 27005907 · DOI · PMC4804573
- Uter W, Aerts O, Agner T, Brans R, Bruze M, Cannavó A, et al.. European Society of Contact Dermatitis Guideline for Diagnostic Patch Testing-Recommendations on Best Practice (Update 2026). . 2026. PMID 42324086 · DOI · PMC13441402
- Johansen JD, Aalto-Korte K, Agner T, Andersen KE, Bircher A, Bruze M, et al.. European Society of Contact Dermatitis guideline for diagnostic patch testing - recommendations on best practice. Contact Dermatitis. 2015. PMID 26179009 · DOI
- Brockow K, Garvey LH, Aberer W, Atanaskovic-Markovic M, Barbaud A, Bilo MB, et al.. Skin test concentrations for systemically administered drugs -- an ENDA/EAACI Drug Allergy Interest Group position paper. Allergy. 2013. PMID 23617635 · DOI
- Farhat M, Greenaway C, Pai M, Menzies D. False-positive tuberculin skin tests: what is the absolute effect of BCG and non-tuberculous mycobacteria?. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2006. PMID 17131776
- Cohen A, Mathiasen VD, Schön T, Wejse C. The global prevalence of latent tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Respir J. 2019. PMID 31221810 · DOI
- Macy E. Penicillin and beta-lactam allergy: epidemiology and diagnosis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2014. PMID 25216741 · DOI
- Wilkinson M, Gonçalo M, Aerts O, Badulici S, Bennike NH, Bruynzeel D, et al.. The European baseline series and recommended additions: 2019. Contact Dermatitis. 2019. PMID 30421432 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.