Evaluation of infection control measures in preventing the nosocomial transmission of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a New York City hospital

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended infection control measures implemented in response to an outbreak of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB).

Design: Retrospective cohort studies of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and healthcare workers. The study period (January 1989 through September 1992) was divided into period I, before changes in infection control; period II, after aggressive use of administrative controls (eg, rapid placement of TB patients or suspected TB patients in single-patient rooms); and period III, while engineering changes were made (eg, improving ventilation in TB isolation rooms).

Setting: A New York City hospital that was the site of one of the first reported outbreaks of MDR-TB among AIDS patients in the United States.

Participants: All AIDS patients admitted during periods I and II. Healthcare workers on nine inpatient units with TB patients and six without TB patients.

Results: The epidemic (38 patients) waned during period II and only one MDR-TB patient presented during period III. The MDR-TB attack rate among AIDS patients hospitalized on the same ward on the same days as an infectious MDR-TB patient was 8.8% (19 of 216) during period I, decreasing to 2.6% (5 of 193; P = 0.01) during period II. In a small group of healthcare workers with tuberculin skin test data, conversions during periods II through III were higher on wards with than without TB patients (5 of 29 versus 0 of 15; P = 0.15), although the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Transmission of MDR-TB among AIDS patients decreased markedly after enforcement of readily implementable administrative measures, ending the outbreak. However, tuberculin skin-test conversions among healthcare workers may not have been prevented by these measures. CDC guidelines for prevention of nosocomial transmission of TB should be implemented fully at all US hospitals.