TY - JOUR
T1 - Tuberculin skin testing of physicians at a Midwestern teaching hospital
T2 - A 6-year prospective study
AU - Warren, David K.
AU - Foley, Kristin M.
AU - Polish, Louis B.
AU - Seiler, Sondra M.
AU - Fraser, Victoria J.
PY - 2001/5/1
Y1 - 2001/5/1
N2 - The epidemiology of tuberculin reactivity among physicians practicing in regions of moderate tuberculosis prevalence is unknown. We prospectively assessed the epidemiology of tuberculin skin test (TST) reactivity among physicians in training in St. Louis between 1992 and 1998. Of 1574 physicians who were tested, 267 (17%) had positive TST results. Older age, birth outside of the United States, prior bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, and practice in the fields of medicine, anesthesiology, or psychiatry were associated with a positive TST result. Among physicians born in the United States, 63 (5.7%) had positive TST results. Among physicians with ≥2 documented TSTs, 12 had conversion to a positive TST (1.6%; 1.03 conversions per 100 person-years). Physicians in this study had a high rate of tuberculin reactivity, despite a low conversion rate. The relationship between TST conversion and birth outside of the United States and BCG vaccination suggests a booster phenomenon rather than true new TST conversions.
AB - The epidemiology of tuberculin reactivity among physicians practicing in regions of moderate tuberculosis prevalence is unknown. We prospectively assessed the epidemiology of tuberculin skin test (TST) reactivity among physicians in training in St. Louis between 1992 and 1998. Of 1574 physicians who were tested, 267 (17%) had positive TST results. Older age, birth outside of the United States, prior bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, and practice in the fields of medicine, anesthesiology, or psychiatry were associated with a positive TST result. Among physicians born in the United States, 63 (5.7%) had positive TST results. Among physicians with ≥2 documented TSTs, 12 had conversion to a positive TST (1.6%; 1.03 conversions per 100 person-years). Physicians in this study had a high rate of tuberculin reactivity, despite a low conversion rate. The relationship between TST conversion and birth outside of the United States and BCG vaccination suggests a booster phenomenon rather than true new TST conversions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035341168&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/319993
DO - 10.1086/319993
M3 - Article
C2 - 11303269
AN - SCOPUS:0035341168
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 32
SP - 1331
EP - 1337
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 9
ER -