Challenge TB Project, Management Sciences for Health, Kabul, Afghanistan.
National Tuberculosis Program, Ministry of Public Health, Kabul, Afghanistan.
PLoS One. 2021 Jun 1;16(6):e0252307. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252307. eCollection 2021.
About 26% of the world's population may have latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Health care workers are a high-risk category because of their professional exposure.
This cross-sectional study assessed the LTBI burden among health care workers in Afghanistan, a high-TB-burden country. We selected health facilities using a systematic sampling technique and invited all workers at the targeted health facilities to participate. Participants were interviewed about sociodemographic and exposure variables and received tuberculin skin tests for LTBI.
Of the 4,648 health care workers invited to participate, 3,686 had tuberculin skin tests. The prevalence of LTBI was found to be 47.2% (1,738 workers). Multivariate analysis showed that a body mass index of ≥ 30 and marriage were associated with an increased risk of LTBI. Underweight (body mass index of ≤ 18 and below) and normal body mass index had no association with increased risk of LTBI.
LTBI is high among health care workers in Afghanistan. We recommend instituting infection control measures in health facilities and screening workers for timely TB diagnosis.
约 26%的世界人口可能患有潜伏性结核感染（LTBI）。由于医护人员的职业接触，他们属于高危人群。
本横断面研究评估了阿富汗卫生保健工作者中的 LTBI 负担，阿富汗是一个结核负担高的国家。我们使用系统抽样技术选择卫生机构，并邀请目标卫生机构的所有工作人员参与。对参与者进行社会人口学和接触变量的访谈，并对 LTBI 进行结核菌素皮肤试验。
在邀请参加的 4648 名卫生保健工作者中，有 3686 人进行了结核菌素皮肤试验。LTBI 的患病率为 47.2%（1738 名工人）。多变量分析表明，身体质量指数（BMI）≥30 和已婚与 LTBI 风险增加相关。体重过轻（BMI≤18 和以下）和正常 BMI 与 LTBI 风险增加无关。
阿富汗卫生保健工作者中的 LTBI 很高。我们建议在卫生机构中实施感染控制措施，并对工作人员进行筛查以进行及时的结核病诊断。
