Abstract
BACKGROUND: Treatment of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) in Brazil is recommended only in the case of contacts of pulmonary smear-positive TB patients aged =≤15 years with a tuberculin skin test (TST) ≥ 10 mm and no previous bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination or with a TST ≥ 15 mm regardless of previous BCG vaccination. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the 2-year incidence and predictors of TB among contacts who did not meet the Brazilian criteria for LTBI treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. Contacts aged between 12 and 15 years and those aged >15 years who did not meet the Brazilian criteria for LTBI treatment were enrolled in the study. RESULTS: TB incidence was 3.2% (22/667), with an estimated TB rate of 1649 per 100000 population. Risk of TB was greater among the 349 contacts with TST ≥ 5 mm (5.4%) compared to the 318 contacts with TST < 5 mm (0.9%; RR 6.04, 95%CI 1.7-20.6). CONCLUSION: The high incidence of TB among contacts who did not meet the Brazilian criteria for LTBI treatment strongly suggests that these criteria should be reviewed. Furthermore, even among BCG-vaccinated contacts, TST induration ≥5 mm was the only variable that predicted the development of TB disease within 2 years.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 190-195 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - Feb 2009 |
Keywords
- LTBI
- Pulmonary tuberculosis
- Tuberculin test
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Infectious Diseases