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
Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jul;50(7):820-827.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.01.021. Epub 2022 Jan 30.

Prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis in health workers: A systematic review of the literature

Eni Hilário da Silva  1 , Ercilia Lima  2 , Talita Raquel Dos Santos  2 , Maria Clara Padoveze  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis in health workers: A systematic review of the literature

Eni Hilário da Silva et al. Am J Infect Control. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis in health workers.

Method: Systematic literature review, according to the protocol of the Joanna Briggs Institute and report following PRISMA guidelines. Primary studies containing data on the incidence or prevalence of active or latent tuberculosis infection in health workers were considered.

Results: 2,310 potentially relevant studies were identified in ten databases, of which 24 were included. The prevalence of latent tuberculosis varied between 0.1% and 62.0%, and the annual incidence rate varied from 1.4% to 11.4%. A meta-analysis combining data from the studies identified the prevalence as 28% (95% CI 21-36). Occupational risk factors are related to direct contact with patients having active tuberculosis, and more years of professional experience.

Conclusions: Evidences show that tuberculosis is an important occupational problem in health care; however, there are still gaps in information about the epidemiology of tuberculosis in health workers, mainly related to the risk factors.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Health personnel; Health services; Latent tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

PubMed Disclaimer