D. Hewlett et al., NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION WITH MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT AND MULTIDRUG-SUSCEPTIBLE TUBERCULOSIS IN 91 HEALTH-CARE WORKERS, Infectious diseases in clinical practice, 4(5), 1995, pp. 389-393
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Infectious Diseases",Immunology,"Medicine, General & Internal
Ninety-one health care workers (HCWs) employed in a public hospital we
re identified with recent tuberculin skin test conversion, Nosocomial
transmission of rifampin-isoniazid-streptomycin-ethambutol (RISE)-resi
stant tuberculosis had occurred during a 10-month period. Rates of con
version differed significantly among physicians and nurses when compar
ed with other personnel and were more frequent among physicians and nu
rses assigned to the medical service than among nurses and physicians
assigned to nonmedical patient care or among other personnel, Among th
e 91 skin test converters were 15 of 21 HCWs assigned to an inpatient
AIDS unit and 76 of 2282 HCWs assigned to other areas of the hospital.
No cases oi active tuberculosis developed among these HCWs during the
study period. These data strongly suggest RISE-resistant tuberculosis
transmission, probably to workers assigned to the inpatient AIDS unit
. Physicians and nurses assigned to the medical service were at greate
st risk, but physicians were the group least likely to comply with tub
erculin skin testing.