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Article

Right to Occupational Safety: Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Healthcare Workers. A 1-Year Retrospective Survey Carried out at Hospital of Lecce (Italy)

by
Gabriele d’Ettorre
1,
Stela Karaj
2,
Prisco Piscitelli
1,3,4,*,
Osvaldo Maiorano
1,
Carmen Attanasi
1,
Roberta Tornese
1,
Eugenia Carluccio
1,
Paolo Giannuzzi
1,
Enrico Greco
4,5,
Giancarlo Ceccarelli
6,
Gabriella d’Ettorre
6,
Giambattista Lobreglio
1,
Pierpaolo Congedo
1,
Francesco Broccolo
3 and
Alessandro Miani
4
1
Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy
2
Faculty of Social Sciences, European University of Tirana, 1000 Tirana, Albania
3
Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
4
Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, 20123 Milan, Italy
5
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
6
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Epidemiologia 2023, 4(4), 454-463; https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia4040038
Submission received: 2 October 2023 / Revised: 24 October 2023 / Accepted: 25 October 2023 / Published: 31 October 2023
Versions Notes

Abstract

Background: Prevention of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in healthcare workers (HCWs) to ensure the “Right to Occupational Safety” is a special challenge globally, as HCWs have a higher risk of acquiring the infection in hospital settings because of frequent close exposure to patients suffering from tuberculosis (TB). Methods: Aretrospective study was performed with the aim of assessing the prevalence of LTBI related to demographical and occupational risk factors among HCWs employed in a large hospital in Italy. The study involved 1461 HCWs screened for LTBI by Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) and then confirmed with Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) test in case of positivity. Immunosuppressed and BGC-vaccinated workers were tested directly with IGRA. Results: LTBI was diagnosed in 4.1% of the HCWs and the prevalence resulted lower than other studies conducted in low TB incidence countries. The variables significantly linked with higher frequency of the infection were: age ≥40 years (OR = 3.14; 95% CI: 1.13–8.74; p < 0.05), length of service ≥15 years (OR = 4.11; 95% CI: 1.48–11.43; p < 0.05) and not being trained on TB prevention (OR = 3.46; 95% CI: 1.85–6.46; p < 0.05). Not trained HCWs presented a higher risk of LTBI also after adjustment for age and length of service, compared to trained HCWs. Conclusions: screening of HCWs for LTBI should be always considered in routinely occupational surveillance in order to early diagnose the infection and prevent its progression. Safety policies in hospital settings centered on workers’ training on TB prevention is crucial to minimize LTBI occurrence in HCWs.
Keywords: tuberculosis; LTBI; healthcare workers; Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST); interferon gamma release assay (IGRA); prevention tuberculosis; LTBI; healthcare workers; Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST); interferon gamma release assay (IGRA); prevention

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MDPI and ACS Style

d’Ettorre, G.; Karaj, S.; Piscitelli, P.; Maiorano, O.; Attanasi, C.; Tornese, R.; Carluccio, E.; Giannuzzi, P.; Greco, E.; Ceccarelli, G.; et al. Right to Occupational Safety: Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Healthcare Workers. A 1-Year Retrospective Survey Carried out at Hospital of Lecce (Italy). Epidemiologia 2023, 4, 454-463. https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia4040038

AMA Style

d’Ettorre G, Karaj S, Piscitelli P, Maiorano O, Attanasi C, Tornese R, Carluccio E, Giannuzzi P, Greco E, Ceccarelli G, et al. Right to Occupational Safety: Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Healthcare Workers. A 1-Year Retrospective Survey Carried out at Hospital of Lecce (Italy). Epidemiologia. 2023; 4(4):454-463. https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia4040038

Chicago/Turabian Style

d’Ettorre, Gabriele, Stela Karaj, Prisco Piscitelli, Osvaldo Maiorano, Carmen Attanasi, Roberta Tornese, Eugenia Carluccio, Paolo Giannuzzi, Enrico Greco, Giancarlo Ceccarelli, and et al. 2023. "Right to Occupational Safety: Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Healthcare Workers. A 1-Year Retrospective Survey Carried out at Hospital of Lecce (Italy)" Epidemiologia 4, no. 4: 454-463. https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia4040038

APA Style

d’Ettorre, G., Karaj, S., Piscitelli, P., Maiorano, O., Attanasi, C., Tornese, R., Carluccio, E., Giannuzzi, P., Greco, E., Ceccarelli, G., d’Ettorre, G., Lobreglio, G., Congedo, P., Broccolo, F., & Miani, A. (2023). Right to Occupational Safety: Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Healthcare Workers. A 1-Year Retrospective Survey Carried out at Hospital of Lecce (Italy). Epidemiologia, 4(4), 454-463. https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia4040038

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