Tuberculosis

This study’s objectives were to determine which patients TB controllers attempt to detain; how often and where patients are detained, and how many of these patients complete TB treatment. TB controllers sought the civil detention or arrest of 67 patients during the study period. Forty-six percent of these patients were homeless, 81% had drug or alcohol MORE

This study’s objective was to identify and analyze predictors and consequences of nonadherence to antituberculosis treatment. A retrospective study of a citywide cohort of 184 patients with TB in NYC from 1991 through 1994 was conducted. Follow-up information was collected through the NYC TB registry. Nonadherence was defined as treatment default for at least 2 months. MORE

Tuberculosis is one of the chief public health concerns in migrant farmworkers. This paper describes the results of a community health outreach program conducted during the 1994 and 1995 migrant seasons to provide tuberculosis screening and treatment for migrant farmworkers and their families in Orleans and Monroe counties in northwest New York State.

This study examined whether data routinely available in emergency departments could be used to improve isolation decisions for tuberculosis patients. In a large emergency department in New York City, we compared the exposure histories of tuberculosis culture-positive and culture-negative patients and used these data to develop a rapid decision instrument to predict culture-positive tuberculosis. The screen MORE

This study’s objective was to estimate the prevalence of reactivity to purified protein derivative tuberculin in an urban primary care clinic whose patients meet high-risk criteria, to determine if annual screening is warranted, to determine the adherence to return to the clinic for reading of the skin test, and to describe the characteristics of patients who MORE

Patient adherence to prescribed TB regimens must be assured to prevent relapse, acquired resistance, and transmission. Directly observed therapy (DOT), an outpatient management strategy designed to ensure adherence, is not widely used because it is perceived to be inordinately expensive. This article discusses universal (observed therapy for all patients), as opposed to selective (observed taking medications MORE

In this article, the authors describe the outcomes of identification, tuberculin skin testing (TST), clinical evaluation and treatment for contacts of infectious homeless TB cases. According to the authors, twenty-seven of 349 TB cases were homeless. Failure to identify contacts occurred in six of 12 cases residing in shelters versus one of 15 non-shelter cases. The MORE

This study’s objective was to determine the prevalence of four common infectious diseases-hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and tuberculosis-as well as co-infection rates and risk factors in a homeless population. The prevalence of infectious diseases, especially viral hepatitis, among the homeless population is largely unknown. This study consists of a retrospective analysis of MORE

This study’s objective was to determine factors related to survival in acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB), when this condition is the first AIDS-defining disease. A retrospective cohort-study of 549 AIDS patients with EPTB as the first AIDS-defining disease was conducted. Potential candidates to predict survival were sex, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure, MORE

In this article, the authors discuss the importance of understanding the reasons for the lack of reduction among non-U.S.-born persons, in forming new strategies for tuberculosis control. The study examined was performed in northern Manhattan, between 1990 and 1999, and was designed to identify the strains responsible for multiple infections. Findings show that among foreign-born persons, MORE