Universal tuberculosis screening in pregnancy

Nadav Schwartz, Sarah A. Wagner, Sean M. Keeler, Julian Mierlak, David E. Seubert, Aaron B. Caughey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

We reviewed our practice of universal tuberculosis (TB) screening in an at-risk pregnant population with regards to utility and patient compliance. The Gouverneur Healthcare Services prenatal database was analyzed for compliance with TB screening. Age, ethnicity, country of origin, and education level were also analyzed. Of 4049 patients, 95.0% were compliant with their purified protein derivative (PPD) testing. Universal screening identified 1935 (50.4%) PPD+ patients, with chest X-rays (CXR) available for 95.1%. Only one patient had a CXR consistent with active TB, although sputum testing was negative for acid-fast bacilli. Asian women were more likely to be PPD-compliant (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 4.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.34 to 10.45). Similarly, PPD+ Asian women were more likely to be compliant with CXR (aOR: 12.67, 95% CI: 3.44 to 46.7). U.S.-born women were significantly less likely to be compliant with PPD (aOR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.64) or with CXR (aOR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.61). Universal prenatal TB screening is associated with excellent compliance rates and is an effective way to identify a high prevalence of latent TB, but not active disease.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)447-452
Number of pages6
JournalAmerican journal of perinatology
Volume26
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Latent tuberculosis
  • PPD
  • Tuberculosis screening

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology

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