Coccidioidin skin test

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Positive reaction to allergen

The coccidiodin skin test checks to see if you are infected with the fungus that causes coccidioidomycosis.

The spherulin test also looks for this fungus, but it may be a more sensitive test. That means it may pick up signs of the infection earlier or more accurately.

Spherulin skin test

Coccidiodin and spherulin are substances called antigens that are specifically associated with the fungus that causes coccidioidomycosis.

One of these substances is injected just below the skin's surface, usually in the forearm. Your health care provider will look at your arm 24 hours and 48 hours after the test. If your body has antibodies to the coccidiomycosis fungus, your body will react to the antigen. The area of the shot will become red.

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No special preparation is necessary.

There will be a brief sting as a needle is inserted just below the skin's surface.

Doctors once ordered this test if a patient had signs or symptoms of coccidioidomycosis, or had been exposed to the fungus that causes the disease.

However, this skin test is no longer used to diagnosis patients. It is not specific and is mostly used in research to better understand the causes, spread, and control of the disease among a specific group of people.

Review Date: 12/03/2007
Reviewed By: D. Scott Smith, M.D., MSc, DTM&H, Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine, Kaiser Redwood City, CA & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Stanford University. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).