Medical students at risk of nosocomial transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis
; 4(5): 420-6, 2000 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-10815735
ABSTRACT
SETTING:
University and teaching hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city with a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB).OBJECTIVE:
To determine whether medical students are at increased risk of nosocomial transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis relative to other university students.DESIGN:
A cross-sectional study of medical and chemical engineering students in different levels of their training programmes. Information about socio-demographic characteristics, BCG vaccination history, and potential exposures to TB were obtained using a standardised questionnaire. Tuberculin skin testing (TST) was used to determine the prevalence of infection with TB.RESULTS:
Medical students have an increasing prevalence of TST positivity as they advance in their training programme to increasing levels of study (4.6%, 7.8%, 16.2%, respectively, P < 0.001), but chemical engineering students do not (4.2%, 4.3%, 4.4%, respectively, P = 0.913). The risks are greatest during the years of clinical training, when medical students have increased contact with patients.CONCLUSIONS:
Medical students in this setting may be at increased risk of M. tuberculosis infection, relative to chemical engineering students. A programme of routine tuberculin skin testing is needed, combined with interventions to reduce the risk of nosocomial transmission in the workplace.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tuberculosis
/
Cross Infection
/
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis
Year:
2000
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil