Tuberculin skin test conversion among health sciences students: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

SUMMARY Previous studies have reported that health sciences students are at greater risk for tuberculosis infection, especially in developing countries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence, incidence, and factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection among Health Sciences students in Peru. Students enrolled at private university (in Lima – Peru) are tested annually for tuberculosis infection by tuberculin skin test. Data on tuberculin skin test results between 2002 and 2009 was used in this retrospective cohort study, a total of 4842 students were included. Tuberculin skin test conversion was defined as the change of tuberculin skin test from negative (<10 mm) to positive (≥10 mm) after 48 –72 h of inoculation. Baseline tuberculin skin test positivity was 1.0% (95%CI: 0.6%–1.3%), whereas tuberculin skin test conversion incidence was 12.4 per 100 person-years (95%CI: 11.8–13.0). This study showed that students from clinical careers in close contact with patients had an increased risk of tuberculosis infection in the internship, especially Medicine, Dentistry, Medical Technology and Nursing. Administrative, environmental and personal protection measures should be implemented and evaluated periodically in order to reduce the risk of exposure.

The Effect of HIV-Related Immunosuppression on the Risk of Tuberculosis Transmission to Household Contacts

“…We found a higher proportion of index patients who were male than female, which reflects the distribution of tuberculosis incidence in Lima, Peru [11]. The estimated prevalence of tuberculosis infection in Lima varies widely from 1% among incoming health science students to 77% among the workers in the informal public transport sector [27][28][29][30]. In our cohort, the prevalence of tuberculosis infection in HHCs is 38%.…”

Prevalencia de infección tuberculosa latente en trabajadores de salud de establecimientos del primer nivel de atención. Lima, Perú

“…La edad promedio de los TS fue de 43 años (mínimo 19 se describió que el riesgo de adquirir un ITL en los TS se ve influenciado por la prevalencia local de la TB en comunidad, el tipo de establecimiento de salud (ES) y la cantidad de pacientes que se atienden, las áreas o servicios donde laboran y el grupo ocupacional, así como la eficacia de las medidas de control de infecciones de TB (1,2,6,7) . En el Perú se han realizado algunos estudios que han evidenciado altas prevalencias de ITL en TS, pero estos se han realizado, principalmente, en hospitales o en estudiantes de carreras de ciencias de la salud (8)(9)(10)(11)(12) . Sin embargo, no se han desarrollado estudios en ES del primer nivel de atención y son estos, precisamente, donde se administran gratuitamente los tratamientos a los pacientes con TB.…”

Latent Tuberculosis Among Professionals From a Referral Hospital in Oncology

“…Prophylactic treatment with isoniazid is recommended for professionals whose infection was acquired in the last 2 years or those who are considered at high risk for active TB 18,19,21 . Several previous studies assessed TST conversion rates among health care workers and students, with rates ranging from 1.4 to 20.7% 16,18,20,28 . Our rate (9.3%) was similar to that found by Pérez-Lu et al 28 , who conducted a retrospective study about TST conversion in 4,842 health students and found a conversion rate of 12.4%.…”

“…Several previous studies assessed TST conversion rates among health care workers and students, with rates ranging from 1.4 to 20.7% 16,18,20,28 . Our rate (9.3%) was similar to that found by Pérez-Lu et al 28 , who conducted a retrospective study about TST conversion in 4,842 health students and found a conversion rate of 12.4%. Kiertiburanakul et al 16 found a TST conversion rate of 4.8% at a hospital in Thailand.…”