Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2002 May;92(5):826-9.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.92.5.826.

Tuberculosis screening among foreign-born persons applying for permanent US residence

Mona Saraiya  1 , Susan T Cookson, Paul Tribble, Benjamin Silk, Robert Cass, Shameer Poonja, Marva Walting, Noelle Howland, Edwin A Paz, Jennifer Cochran, Kathleen S Moser, Margaret J Oxtoby, Nancy J Binkin
Affiliations

Tuberculosis screening among foreign-born persons applying for permanent US residence

Mona Saraiya et al. Am J Public Health. 2002 May.

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to determine adherence of physicians to tuberculosis (TB) screening guidelines among foreign-born persons living in the United States who were applying for permanent residency.

Methods: Medical forms of applicants from 5 geographic areas were reviewed, along with information from a national physician database on attending physicians. Applicant and corresponding physician characteristics were compared among those who were and were not correctly screened.

Results: Of 5739 applicants eligible for screening via tuberculin skin test, 75% were appropriately screened. Except in San Diego, where 11% of the applicants received no screening, most of the inappropriate screening resulted from the use of chest x-rays as the initial screening tool.

Conclusions: Focused physician education and periodic monitoring of adherence to screening guidelines are warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tuberculosis morbidity among US-born and foreign-born population—United States, 2000. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2002; 51(05);101-4. - PubMed
    1. Institute of Medicine. Ending Neglect: The Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommendations for prevention and control of tuberculosis among foreign-born persons. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1998;47:1–26.
    1. Saraiya M, Binkin NJ. Tuberculosis in immigrants. In: Reichman LB, Hershfield ES, eds. Tuberculosis: A Comprehensive International Approach. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker; 2000:661–692.
    1. Binkin N, Zuber P, Wells C, Tipple M, Castro K. Overseas screening for tuberculosis in immigrants and refugees to the United States: current status. Clin Infect Dis. 1996;26:1226–1232. - PubMed

MeSH terms