Latent tuberculosis infection status and its risk factors among tuberculosis-related health-care workers in Shanghai

Objective To obtain the status of latent tuberculosis infection （LTBI） among tuberculosis （TB）-related health-care workers （HCWs） in Shanghai， and to explore the risk factors related to TB infection.

Methods A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted by recruiting medical workers from multiple designated TB hospitals， centers for disease control and prevention， and community health service centers in Shanghai. Each subject was required to complete a questionnaire and to provide a blood sample for TB infection test. Univariate and multivariate analysis ware made in order to find risk factors relating to TB infection.

Results A total of 165 medical workers were recruited， and the proportion of TB infection was 16.36% （95%CI： 11.49%‒22.76%）. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that clinical doctors and nurses （adjusted OR=9.756， 95%CI： 1.790‒53.188）， laboratory staffs （adjusted OR=78.975， 95%CI： 8.749‒712.918）， and nursing and cleaning workers （adjusted OR=89.920， 95%CI： 3.111‒2 598.930） had higher risk of TB infection.

Conclusion The overall LTBI prevalence among TB-related HCWs is low. However， working as doctors， nurses， laboratory staffs， nursing workers and cleaning workers are risk factors of TB infection. TB-related HCWs who work at hospitals are at risk of TB infection comparing to medical staffs who work outside hospitals.