The Kveim test, Nickerson-Kveim or Kveim-Siltzbach test is a skin test used to detect

sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis (also known as ''Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease'') is a disease involving abnormal collections of inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph nodes. Less commonly af ...

, where part of a

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

from a patient with known sarcoidosis is injected into the skin of a patient suspected to have the disease. If non caseating granulomas are found (4–6 weeks later), the test is positive. If the patient has been on treatment (e.g.

glucocorticoid Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every verte ...

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 (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of ...

, 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. A Kveim test may be used to distinguish sarcoidosis from conditions with otherwise indistinguishable symptoms such as berylliosis.

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* {{Eponymous medical signs for respiratory system Skin tests