Prevalence and Determinant of Tuberculin Skin Test among Health Care Workers of Imam Khomeini Hospital of Uremia, Iran

Background and Aim: Health care workers (HCWs) in developing countries are at risk for nosocomial tuberculosis (TB). In this study, we are going to determine the prevalence of TB infection among HCWs in Imam Khomeini hospital of Uremia, northwestern Iran.Materials and Methods: It is a cross sectional study, conducted between April and June 2004. Tuberculin skin test (TST) survey was conducted among 350 HCW, and measured the indurations size.Results: From 350 participants, 71 (20.28%) had indurations between 10-15mm and 96 (27.42%) had indurations more than 15mm. Most of HCWs with indurations more than 15mm were in age of 20-30 years. From 75 HCWs with employment duration of more than 10 years, 45(47%) had indurations of more than 15mm.Conclusion: PPD reaction in HCWs was higher comparison with control group, meaning this group are at high risk for Acquired TB