Kveim test
Encyclopedia
The Kveim test, Nickerson-Kveim or Kveim-Siltzbach test is a skin test used to detect sarcoidosis
, where part of a spleen
from a patient with known sarcoidosis is injected into the skin of a patient suspected to have the disease. If granuloma
s are found (4–6 weeks later), the test is positive. If the patient has been on treatment (e.g. glucocorticoid
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
, 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.
Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis , also called sarcoid, Besnier-Boeck disease or Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease, is a disease in which abnormal collections of chronic inflammatory cells form as nodules in multiple organs. The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown...
, where part of a spleen
Spleen
The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...
from a patient with known sarcoidosis is injected into the skin of a patient suspected to have the disease. If granuloma
Granuloma
Granuloma is a medical term for a tiny collection of immune cells known as macrophages. Granulomas form when the immune system attempts to wall off substances that it perceives as foreign but is unable to eliminate. Such substances include infectious organisms such as bacteria and fungi as well as...
s are found (4–6 weeks later), the test is positive. If the patient has been on treatment (e.g. glucocorticoid
Glucocorticoid
Glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor , which is present in almost every vertebrate animal cell...
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
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
, could be transferred through a Kveim test.
It is named for the Norwegian pathologist Morten Ansgar Kveim
Morten Ansgar Kveim
Morten Ansgar Kveim was a Norwegian pathologist remembered for describing the Kveim test. He qualified in medicine in 1925, and worked in a number of small towns in Norway. After 1929 he worked in the department of diseases of the skin in the Rikshospitalet in Oslo, becoming assistant physician in...
, 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.