The Relationship between Hospital Departments and Risk of Developing Tuberculosis among Nurses Working at a University Hospitalin Korea: Retrospective Cohort Study.
- Author:
Jin Ha YOON
1
;
Sung Soo OH
;
Ki Hyun LEE
;
Sung Kyung KIM
;
Je Ho OH
;
Chung Se WON
;
Sei Jin CHANG
;
Bong Suk CHA
;
Ae Yong EOM
;
Sang Baek KOH
Author Information
1. Department of Preventive Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea. kohhj@yonsei.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Tuberculosis;
Nurses;
Retrospective cohort
- MeSH:
Cohort Studies;
Environmental Medicine;
Hospital Departments;
Incidence;
Lung Diseases;
Medical Records;
Proportional Hazards Models;
Retrospective Studies;
Tuberculosis;
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary
- From:Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
2011;23(1):64-70
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the occurring characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) among nurses working at a university hospital in Korea. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records from a university hospital. A total of 351 nurses without any pulmonary disease were enrolled during 2000~2007, and were followed up until October 2010. To compare with the incidence of TB between occupational subgroups, workplaces were divided into high and low TB-exposure risk departments. For statistical analysis, the relative risks for TB incidences between departments were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models and mean incidences were estimated with person-time years. RESULTS: Seven cases of TB were observed during 2001 person-years. Five and two cases were observed in the high and low TB-exposure risk departments, respectively. The relative risk of TB infection in the high TB-exposure risk departments were 6.52 (95% CI, 1.26~33.60) compared to that in the low TB-exposure risk department. The mean incidence of TB in the total nurses was 0.350% per person-year. CONCLUSIONS: According to the concept of occupational and environmental medicine, high TB-exposure risk departments were more likely to be at increased risk of tuberculosis.
