OBJECTIVE: To compare tuberculosis cure rates among patients supervised by household members or health care workers. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 171 patients treated by the program in Vitoria, Southeastern Brazil, from 2004 to 2007. Each patient was followed-up for six months until the end of the treatment. Of the patients studied, a household member supervised 59 patients and healthcare workers supervised 112 patients. Patients' sociodemographic and clinic data were analyzed. Differences between groups were assessed using chi-square test or Student's t-test. Significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: Most patients had smear positive, culture confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. Two patients were HIV-positive. There were more illiterate patients in the healthcare-supervised group, in comparison to those supervised by their families (p=0.01). All patients supervised by a household member were cured compared to 90% of the patients supervised by health care workers (p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Successful tuberculosis treatment was more frequent when supervised by household members.

Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of tuberculosis cases reported among health care workers in the Tuberculosis Control Program of the Cassiano Antnio de Moraes University Hospital in Vitoria, Brazil. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of secondary data was conducted between 2002 and 2006. Results: Twenty-five cases of health care workers with tuberculosis were reported: 8 in nursing technicians (32%); 4 in doctors (16%); 3 in nurses (12%); 2 in radiology technicians (8%) and 8 in professionals from other categories (32%). Of those 25 health care workers, 14 (56%) were male and 11 (44%) were female. The incidence of the disease was highest among those from 35 to 39 years of age. The predominant clinical presentation was extrapulmonary (12 cases, 48%), followed by pulmonary (11 cases, 44%) and a combination of the two (2 cases, 8%). Regarding comorbidities, AIDS, alcoholism and smoking, respectively, were present in 33.3% of the study population. Outcomes were as follows: 22 cases of cure (88%); 2 transfers (8%); and 1 death (4%). The proportion of health care workers diagnosed with tuberculosis in the period studied was 2.53%. Conclusions: The results show the need for heath care workers who work in the tuberculosis control program to fill out the field 'professional occupation' on the tuberculosis case registry database reporting forms. In addition, this situation draws attention to the need to implement an occupational tuberculosis control program. ; 4 médicos (16%); 3 enfermeiros (12%); 2 técnicos em radiologia (8%) e 8 profissionais pertencentes a outras categorias (32%); 14 do sexo masculino (56%) e 11 do sexo feminino (44%). A faixa etária com maior incidência foi a de 35-39 anos. A forma clínica predominante foi a extrapulmonar com 12 casos (48%), seguido da pulmonar com 11 casos (44%), e 2 casos (8%) apresentaram ambas as manifestações. Entre os agravos associados, AIDS, etilismo e tabagismo apresentaram a mesma proporção entre a população do estudo: 33,3%. Quanto ao desfecho, houve 22 casos de cura (88%), 2 transferências (8%) e 1 óbito (4%). A proporção de profissionais de saúde com diagnóstico de tuberculose no período estudado foi de 2,53%. Conclusões: Os resultados deste estudo apontam a necessidade de os profissionais de saúde que trabalham nos programas de controle da tuberculose preencherem o campo "ocupação profissional" nas fichas de notificação do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação. Além disso, apontam para a necessidade da implementação de um programa de controle de tuberculose ocupacional. in Campos, Brazil. (7,10) Despite the significant differences in prevalence and incidence of the infection, when compared to those reported at the beginning of last century, the values obtained in these recent studies suggest that these professionals are at greater risk than is the general population.Some studies conducted in developed countries have demonstrated that the risk of developing TB is lower among health care workers than in the general population. ...