Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

System for Efficacy and Cytotoxicity Screening of Inhibitors Targeting Intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Published on: April 5, 2017
Correlation between frequency of tuberculosis and compliance with control strategies
M C Roy1, M Fredrickson, N L Good
1Division of General Medicine, Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, USA.
Objective:
To determine if compliance with annual tuberculosis skin testing correlated with the number of cases of tuberculosis seen in patients and healthcare workers.
Design:
Survey using a written questionnaire.
Setting And Participants:
159 Veterans' Administration facilities.
Results:
Hospitals that reported that > 80% of their healthcare workers received annual skin tests saw 12.7 patient cases per 10,000 admissions and 4.0 healthcare worker cases per 10,000 personnel. Facilities in which < 20% of their healthcare workers were given annual skin tests saw 4.5 cases per 10,000 admissions and 1.6 cases in healthcare workers per 10,000 personnel (P < .001 for patients and P = .31 for healthcare workers). The ratio of the median number of patients placed in acid-fast bacilli (AFB) isolation to the median number of patients with confirmed tuberculosis was 12. There was no correlation of this ratio with the number of cases of tuberculosis in patients or healthcare workers seen in each facility.
Conclusion:
Compliance with annual tuberculosis skin testing was related directly to the rate of tuberculosis seen in patients. More standardized policies for placing patients in AFB isolation are needed to control for potentially costly variation among facilities. These measures should have highest priority in the control of tuberculosis in the healthcare setting, before implementing still more expensive interventions.
Related Concept Videos
Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...
Pulmonary Tuberculosis III
The first classification is based on the development of the disease, and it includes the following categories:
Pulmonary Tuberculosis IV
Several diagnostic approaches are used to detect TB. The conventional method is the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST), also known as the Mantoux test. However, this method has...
Pulmonary Tuberculosis V
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the progression...
Tuberculosis

