Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among pre-clinical and clinical medical students using QuantiFERON-TB gold plus and tuberculin skin test at a teaching hospital in Thailand: A cross-sectional study

作者：Nuntana Chumpa, Kamon Kawkitinarong, Jongkonnee Wongpiyabovorn, Leilani Paitoonpong, Gompol Suwanpimolkul · 发表于：Journal of Infection and Public Health · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1016/j.jiph.2022.02.010 · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology、Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis、Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers are considered to be at a higher risk of acquiring tuberculosis (TB) infection than the general population. Clinical medical students are part of the healthcare team and clinical practice are done during their clinical rotation. They could be exposed to similar occupational risks as the healthcare workers. Most students who become infected have latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and may not exhibit any clinical symptoms. Some students with LTBI can progress to TB disease during clinical rotations in the hospitals. Therefore, screening for LTBI in this population represents hospital aspect of public health strategy and infection control in medical school in high TB burden countries. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the prevalence of LTBI among fourth-year medical students and sixth-year medical students by using QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) and Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). METHODS: A cross-sectional study of fourth-year medical students (n = 73) and sixth-year medical students (n = 85) was conducted at the School of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The medical students (n = 158) who met the eligibility criteria were recruited into the study. LTBI was detected by using QFT-Plus and some of the participants had a tuberculin skin test (TST). The TST was interpreted after 48-72 h. The participants who tested positive by QFT-Plus were considered to have LTBI. Demographic information and data on occupational TB exposure we...