Tine test compliance in a clinic setting.

Parental compliance in keeping a return appointment for the purpose of having their child's Tuberculin Tine test read was studied in the setting of a large urban pediatric clinic. This compliance rate was found to be 72%. Various factors which could potentially affect compliance with this procedure were examined, and the only factor which correlated significantly was family size. A modified system whereby parents read their child's Tine test in the home setting and reported the test results to the clinic by mail (a method used today in many pediatric outpatient departments) was implemented and evaluated. With this new system, the compliance rate increased to 90%.