How soon does a tuberculosis skin test start to change drastically

For the tuberculosis skin test, also known as the tuberculin test, no significant changes are seen until about 48 hours. The tuberculin test is a preliminary test to screen patients for active tuberculosis, mainly by intradermal injection of tuberculin, which is observed for 72 hours. The presence of erythema <5mm suggests a negative result, indicating no previous tuberculosis infection. If the erythema is 5-10 mm, it is a weak positive result, and if the erythema is 10-20 mm, it is a positive result, indicating a previous TB infection or vaccination. Only erythema > 2 cm, or the presence of blisters, ruptures, or hard nodules are considered active TB infection in patients.