Haemodynamic effects of buprenorphine after heart surgery.

SIR,-I refer to the note on tuberculin testing (13 January, p 108), in which reference is again made to the unreliability of the tine tuberculin test. The only alternative mentioned is the Mantoux test. This calls for accurate intracutaneous injection of the tuberculin. I find that young doctors have not been trained in this technique and do not trust themselves (nor are trusted by their seniors) to perform the test satisfactorily. This causes me to ask what has become of the Heaf test. I used it with complete confidence for many years and advised its use throughout Northern Ireland in connection with the BCG vaccination programme of the Northern Ireland Tuberculosis Authority. The Heaf gun demands no special skill in its operation. Has it already been discarded as an obsolete instrument ? H G CALWELL