Chest
Clinical InvestigationsNosocomial Tuberculosis Prevention Measures Among Two Groups of US Hospitals, 1992 to 1996
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
In April 1992, we mailed questionnaires to the department of infection control of a 50% random sample (n = 38) of 76 hospitals that specialized in providing care to HIV patients in four high-HIV-incidence cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami). These 76 hospitals had been providing care to patients with HIV-related PCP since 1987 and were randomly selected to participate in a separate study to investigate variations in quality of care for hospitalized patients with HIV-related PCP.12
Hospital Characteristics
The response rate was 71% for PCP hospitals (27/38) and 76% for the other US hospitals (103/136). Of the 130 respondents, 28 (22%) had≤ 199 adult acute-care beds, 53 (41%) had 200 to 399 beds, and 42 (32%) had ≥ 400 beds; 43 were university-affiliated (33%), 30 were community teaching (23%), and 48 were community nonteaching hospitals (37%).
TB Admissions
The number of hospitals to which TB patients were admitted remained stable from 1989 to 1996. While the median number of annual TB patient admissions ranged
Discussion
Nosocomial transmission of MTB remains a great threat to public health. The 1997 publication of the proposed TB standard by OSHA has heightened this awareness among HCWs, especially those at hospitals with TB patient admissions. Various ways to prevent nosocomial transmission of and occupational exposure to MTB have been published8, 9, 11 since the resurgence of TB in 1985. The efficacy of these guideline recommendations have been documented in several studies.13, 14, 15 However, the reports of
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