Thiago Nascimento do Prado, Heleticia Scabelo Galavote, Ana Paula Brioshi,
Thamy Lacerda, Geisa Fregona, Valdério do Valle Detoni,
Rita de Cássia Duarte Lima, Reynaldo Dietze, Ethel Leonor Noia Maciel
J Bras Pneumol.2008;34(8):607-613
Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of tuberculosis cases reported among health care workers in the Tuberculosis Control
Program of the Cassiano Antonio of Moraes University Hospital in Vitoria, Brazil. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of secondary
data was conducted between 2002 and 2006. Results: Twenty-five cases of health care workers with tuberculosis were reported: 8 in nursing
technicians (32%); 4 in doctors (16%); 3 in nurses (12%); 2 in radiology technicians (8%) and 8 in professionals from other categories (32%).
Of those 25 health care workers, 14 (56%) were male and 11 (44%) were female. The incidence of the disease was highest among those from
35 to 39 years of age. The predominant clinical presentation was extrapulmonary (12 cases, 48%), followed by pulmonary (11 cases, 44%)
and a combination of the two (2 cases, 8%). Regarding comorbidities, AIDS, alcoholism and smoking, respectively, were present in 33.3% of
the study population. Outcomes were as follows: 22 cases of cure (88%); 2 transfers (8%); and 1 death (4%). The proportion of health care
workers diagnosed with tuberculosis in the period studied was 2.53%. Conclusions: The results show the need for heath care workers who
work in the tuberculosis control program to fill out the field "professional occupation" on the tuberculosis case registry database reporting
forms. In addition, this situation draws attention to the need to implement an occupational tuberculosis control program.
Keywords: Health profile; Tuberculosis/epidemiology; Health personnel; Prevalence.