TB testing at St. Luke's

[codeblue20 8]

i've noticed that in most forums, there seems to be a high rate of positive TB screens at St. Luke's. how can we detect TB at it's early stages? we can go to our local hospitals and have a chest xray done, however, even if this is negative, if you submit to the St. luke's xray testing, and it shows that you have infiltrates they will suspect it is TB thus submitting the applicants for sputum testing and culture. so the question is how can act early to detect it before the medical exam so that if there is something suspicious, we can have it treated early and then go to our medical exam with peace of mind? however, divulging our medical history can make them suspect us of TB or other third word related illnesses that need to be treated before giving a visa to travel abroad. i remembered when i went for my own medical exam at st.luke's - being a nurse and exposed to the medical surgical ward of a hospital in the Philippines can make me susceptible to such diseases. it is expected however that pinoys will have TB whether it is latent or active in one's system because we are exposed to it. if our resistance is low, extremely low, the disease can kick in since it is an opportunistic bacteria. our government sure has health programs to detect, prevent and treat TB. but then like i said even if you're negative from the cxr results taken from an outside hospital, once you have your medical/physical exam at ST. Luke's this hospital will accommodate the cxr that they did on you, even if your films from outside showed negative. any thoughts about this?

i meant that being a nurse working in a philippine hospital i too was worried that if i had cxr done at st.luke's they might see something suspicious. but everything came out negative. that was in 2003.

[Jon and Gay 3]

I m not on medical stage though I have my annual medical exam results and xray. I will surely tell St. Lukes about my regular check up, sp they will not freak me out. I have a card i will surely schedule my annual exam after the release of my NOA 2. Also you may take milk frequently as it was I heard the doctors recommendation to my classmates who were suspiciously found problems in their xray results. I was once a nursing student too, I may likely visit my doctors for the prescription of drug that will show negative results on skin test. One of my classmates was given a prescription, he didnt worry about the medical. Hope this will help you, as for me this is my plan of action while waiting.

[RyRo 47]

from my own experience the Xray from the local hospital where i live in the Philippines is different from the one in St. Luke's they actually take a chest radiograph which is more accurate than the regular xray that local hospitals take.

[LSnBigBear 61]

from my own experience the Xray from the local hospital where i live in the Philippines is different from the one in St. Luke's they actually take a chest radiograph which is more accurate than the regular xray that local hospitals take.

I was not aware of that they use a different type of medical equipment. Interesting but I am sure your information is very accurate as it would make sense that out-lying hospitals with no US or Western affliation would scan as in depth as St Lukes has to. Thanks for the education... Much appreciated.

Shawn

[Tahoma 2,292]

My wife, Chinook, was a nurse in 'pinas and is a nurse here in the U.S. After she completed her medical at St. Lukes, she mentioned to me how modern the x-ray equipment is at St. Lukes compared to the tertiary public hospital and the clinics where she worked in 'pinas.

The doctors at St. Lukes will look at the x-rays you bring in from the outside, but their own x-ray is the one they will go by.

If you want to find out if you have TB before you go to St. Lukes, you can do what St. Lukes does. You can have a chest x-ray done and have a pulmonologist look at it. You can have smear tests done. You can have your sputum cultured.

Also, you can get a blood test done. This is something St. Lukes does not do.

St Lukes does not perform skin tests on adults. Skin tests give a false positive on many Pinoys because they were given the BCG vaccine when they were young.

[chrismanilyn 4]

They wouldn't even look at my wife's previous xray or medical records...I don't blame them...they don't "look" official and it appears St Lukes operates at a higher standard. Her daughter was allowed to enter the US on B2 med class and is in her 4th month of TB treatment...only had skin test reaction and was not even the high ML reading.

[RyRo 47]

I was not aware of that they use a different type of medical equipment. Interesting but I am sure your information is very accurate as it would make sense that out-lying hospitals with no US or Western affliation would scan as in depth as St Lukes has to. Thanks for the education... Much appreciated.

Shawn

You're welcome. In the past it also made me wonder why some applicants even if they took an Xray before the medical exam at St. Luke's still have issues regarding their lungs that made us decide to not to undergo Xray prior to the medical as it wont even count because they have a different device and it is really accurate that they can see even a small scar. What people can do is stay healthy as much as you can before your medical God bless

[codeblue20 8]

thanks for all those inputs! it's just that lately there have been a lot of "suspicious" chest xray results at St.Luke's and i guess before our beneficiaries go there for the medical exam steps should be taken not only to have a negative result, but in all in all, stay healthy and keep regular check ups so that TB can be detected early and treated early if needed.

[Miss_September 1]

thanks for all those inputs! it's just that lately there have been a lot of "suspicious" chest xray results at St.Luke's and i guess before our beneficiaries go there for the medical exam steps should be taken not only to have a negative result, but in all in all, stay healthy and keep regular check ups so that TB can be detected early and treated early if needed.

It is one of my worries the medical examination though I undergo chest x-ray and sputum every year because it is one of the requirements in my work but since St. Lukes is using a much better machine than other hospitals or clinics,I should be more careful with my health.

[TBoneTX 45,324]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Case Progress to Philippines regional subforum -- topic is country-specific and not a typical case filing or progress issue. ***

[yosef bernini 0]

hi i been in medical this January and im so anxious to the said medical test for an immigrant,prior to that theres a lot of speculation about the tthe test they made i know St, lukes is one of the most advance in field of medical care etc,,,by the way im in nursing profession and knows more about the procedure,,,,and what i did was i keep my self ready for that test before the notice arrived,,,,im a smoker ,i drink too with 1 shot glass for the group the style which filipino drinkers do,so im so anxios with my outcome....what i did was , I jog everyday 5km,,note 5 km daily,,,,,,because i believe that when lungs always stretch the fluid were always in refreshed and fluid accumulation will be averted i did it for 3 months,,,YOU know what my lungs were CLEAR im 37 years old and some of my batch on that day failed young mother,teenager,muscle man....i think my running helps me pass the medical exam,now i got my visa.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

i've noticed that in most forums, there seems to be a high rate of positive TB screens at St. Luke's. how can we detect TB at it's early stages? we can go to our local hospitals and have a chest xray done, however, even if this is negative, if you submit to the St. luke's xray testing, and it shows that you have infiltrates they will suspect it is TB thus submitting the applicants for sputum testing and culture. so the question is how can act early to detect it before the medical exam so that if there is something suspicious, we can have it treated early and then go to our medical exam with peace of mind? however, divulging our medical history can make them suspect us of TB or other third word related illnesses that need to be treated before giving a visa to travel abroad. i remembered when i went for my own medical exam at st.luke's - being a nurse and exposed to the medical surgical ward of a hospital in the Philippines can make me susceptible to such diseases. it is expected however that pinoys will have TB whether it is latent or active in one's system because we are exposed to it. if our resistance is low, extremely low, the disease can kick in since it is an opportunistic bacteria. our government sure has health programs to detect, prevent and treat TB. but then like i said even if you're negative from the cxr results taken from an outside hospital, once you have your medical/physical exam at ST. Luke's this hospital will accommodate the cxr that they did on you, even if your films from outside showed negative. any thoughts about this?

i meant that being a nurse working in a philippine hospital i too was worried that if i had cxr done at st.luke's they might see something suspicious. but everything came out negative. that was in 2003.

If you want a little peace of mind then have the x-ray done with your local Dr. But keep in mind SLEC is going to do the x-ray because of the requirement from USEM that their equipment must be some of the most up to date and can detect TB or at least give an indication that further testing is required. It's included in your fee. Also, if you see your private Dr., you will not have enough time to complete the treatment of TB to meet SLEC's requirements. So again, relax and see SLEC for your exam.

Second, changing your diet (eating more vegetables or drinking lots of milk) will NOT change the outcome. Just a waste of time.

[twinkie2026 2]

Have faith in God miracle happens to me i passed my medical feb2015 my scar in lungs was gone i had a PTB 2010 and the scars left on my lungs last year on my xray result the scar still there but im so surprised God blesses me with a wonderful gift SCAR NO MORE what i did is pray and ask miracle from the Lord and stop drinking alcohol and have a healthy life style before my medical until now drink milk,lemon and cran berry juice

Have faith in God miracle happens to me i passed my medical feb2015 my scar in lungs was gone i had a PTB 2010 and the scars left on my lungs last year on my xray result the scar still there but im so surprised God blesses me with a wonderful gift SCAR NO MORE what i did is pray and ask miracle from the Lord and stop drinking alcohol and have a healthy life style before my medical until now drink milk,lemon and cran berry juice

[VOL 425]

hi i been in medical this January and im so anxious to the said medical test for an immigrant,prior to that theres a lot of speculation about the tthe test they made i know St, lukes is one of the most advance in field of medical care etc,,,by the way im in nursing profession and knows more about the procedure,,,,and what i did was i keep my self ready for that test before the notice arrived,,,,im a smoker ,i drink too with 1 shot glass for the group the style which filipino drinkers do,so im so anxios with my outcome....what i did was , I jog everyday 5km,,note 5 km daily,,,,,,because i believe that when lungs always stretch the fluid were always in refreshed and fluid accumulation will be averted i did it for 3 months,,,YOU know what my lungs were CLEAR im 37 years old and some of my batch on that day failed young mother,teenager,muscle man....i think my running helps me pass the medical exam,now i got my visa.

If you are in the nursing profession,

You need to take up a new career, obvious you are delusional.

Edited March 5, 2015 by VOL

[manilaraf 28]

He kinda lost me when he got to the fluids part.