St. Lukes Extension for Medical Visa

[top_secret 2,421]

A while back I went looking for some actual statistics on SLEC's sputum test miss rate and found an interesting scientific study on it.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6390485/

It covered Filipino immigrants going through Saint Luke's Extension clinic in Manila from 2007 through 2012. While the data is dated, none of the procedures or criteria has changed since that time.  

 

Notably.  Overall 14.66% of Filipino immigrants were flagged for "abnormal chest x-rays" and sent for sputum testing.  Roughly 1 in every 7 going through SLEC.  Meaning one's chances with SLEC's x-ray machine are slightly better than a round of Russian Roulette.

 

Overall only 1.03% of the total were found to be TB positive after chest x-ray and sputum testing.  Meaning out of about every 14 Filipino immigrants flagged for sputum testing.  13 of them were unnecessarily inconvenienced and delayed and 1 actually required TB treatment.

 

For the OP it's notable that in the 65+ age group fully 48.57% of Filipinos in that age group going through SLEC where flagged for sputum testing.  Coin flip odds.  They were actually positive 2.73% of the time.

 

As a child, my stepdaughter got an IGRA blood test instead of a chest x-ray.  That apparently gives fairly accurate results in a day.  I'm not so sure maybe that's not what they should be doing for everyone since apparently the chest x-rays are not really that reliable.

[Chancy 6,241]

7 minutes ago, top_secret said:

As a child, my stepdaughter got an IGRA blood test instead of a chest x-ray.  That apparently gives fairly accurate results in a day.  I'm not so sure maybe that's not what they should be doing for everyone since apparently the chest x-rays are not really that reliable.

 

IGRA blood test screens for latent TB.  Most adult Filipinos would test positive, if my pulmonologist and google are to be believed about TB infection being highly endemic in the Philippine adult population.  So requiring IGRA test for all applicants would make the situation at SLEC worse as most adult applicants would be tagged for sputum testing.

 

[KeithandTan 2]

Hello all,

 

My mother-in-law is near the end of a three year process to obtain the IR5 visa. She had her medical exam at St. Luke's today, didn't receive the clearance, and now has to wait for the sputum test. The earliest appointment she could book for that was May 23. Her embassy interview is scheduled for May 17th. While researching if we need to change the embassy appointment just now, I read this text on the Manila Embassy website:

 

In some cases, the SLMCEC will direct the applicant to engage in subsequent testing, requiring rescheduling of the original visa appointment. You must follow the guidance from the medical provider and will not be admitted if this is the case. SLMCEC does have the authority to provide this guidance to applicants; following this guidance and not appearing for your interview is the correct course of action and will not adversely affect your visa case.

 

Does this mean that when she is able to successfully obtain a medical clearance, SLMCEC will arrange a new interview time? Or they will inform the Embassy who will send an updated interview letter? Or is there another alternative that I'm not familiar with? 

 

Thanks!

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, KeithandTan said:

Does this mean that when she is able to successfully obtain a medical clearance, SLMCEC will arrange a new interview time?

 

SLEC does not schedule visa interviews.  For IR5 cases, after clearing the medical exam, the applicant must book a new visa interview schedule via the embassy's online scheduler.

 

[KeithandTan 2]

Just now, Chancy said:

 

SLEC does not schedule visa interviews.  For IR5 cases, after clearing the medical exam, the applicant must book a new visa interview schedule via the embassy's online scheduler.

 

Thank you so much for the speedy response! 

[Scott12579 10]

On 4/22/2022 at 7:55 AM, Chancy said:

 

Why would it be an insult?!  TB bacteria does not care if the host is rich or poor, young or old, active or inactive.  It just infects lungs it gets access to.  And simply living in the Philippines, being out and about among people, and breathing the same air means getting exposed to TB, because the Philippines has one of the highest rates of TB infection in the world.  Just google "Philippines highly endemic TB".

 

By the way, I also had to go through sputum testing at SLEC Manila.  I tested negative for active TB, so I cleared my medical after just 2 months.  When I came to the US, the state health department asked me to get TB screening.  The doctor here in the US said that I definitely do not have active TB disease, but the blood test they gave me confirmed that I had been exposed to TB and that I do have latent TB infection.  I already knew that, because my previous pulmonologist said no one bothers with blood testing for TB for adults in the Philippines because most would test positive for latent TB infection anyway.  That's why chest x-rays for active TB screening is routinely done in the Philippines.  Here, most US-born adults, like my USC husband, have never had a chest x-ray in their life.

 

So if you have latent TB and do sputum testing at SLEC will it come back as negative and you will clear medical?

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, Scott12579 said:

So if you have latent TB and do sputum testing at SLEC will it come back as negative and you will clear medical?

 

Sputum test result will be negative if the applicant has NO active TB.  In that case, the applicant will clear the medical.  Latent TB only is not a hindrance to US immigration.

 

[Scott12579 10]

Just now, Chancy said:

 

Sputum test result will be negative if the applicant has NO active TB.  In that case, the applicant will clear the medical.  Latent TB only is not a hindrance to US immigration.

 

Thank you. My wife just finished the sputum collections yesterday. Definitely nerve wracking. She has never had any TB that she knows of. Just hoping it's negative. Thanks again