Screening for Tuberculosis in Portuguese Healthcare Workers
Author Information
Author(s): Torres Costa José, Silva Rui, Ringshausen Felix C, Nienhaus Albert
Primary Institution: Hospital São João, EPE
Hypothesis
Does systematic screening for tuberculosis using TST and IGRA effectively predict active TB in healthcare workers?
Conclusion
The study found a high burden of TB among healthcare workers, but the progression to active TB was lower than previously reported in literature.
Supporting Evidence
- 29.5% of healthcare workers tested positive for TST and IGRA.
- Active TB was diagnosed in twelve healthcare workers.
- The progression rate to active TB was lower than reported in literature for low-incidence countries.
Takeaway
This study looked at healthcare workers in Portugal to see how well two tests for tuberculosis work. They found that many workers had TB, but not as many got sick from it as expected.
Methodology
Healthcare workers were screened for TB using TST and IGRA tests, with follow-up chest X-rays as needed.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in risk assessment due to the high correlation between age and years working in healthcare.
Limitations
The study's progression rate calculation was based on only four cases of active TB.
Participant Demographics
{"gender_distribution":{"female":71.7,"male":28.3},"age_distribution":{"<25 years":10.4,"25-29 years":28.5,"30-39 years":27.4,"40-49 years":18.5,"≥50 years":15.2},"BCG_vaccination":{"only_at_birth":31.8,"one_additional":35.4,"two_additional":23.0,"≥3_additional":9.8}}
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.06
Confidence Interval
0.3-0.6
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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