Nosocomial tuberculosis prevention in Portuguese hospitals: a cross-sectional evaluation.

Setting: Measures to control tuberculous infection are crucial to prevent nosocomial transmission and protect health care workers (HCWs). In Portugal, the extent of implementation of tuberculosis (TB) control measures in hospitals is not known.

Objective: To determine the current implementation of preventive measures for tuberculous infection at administrative, environmental and personal levels in Portuguese hospitals.

Design: A cross-sectional evaluation was performed using two anonymous questionnaires: one sent to all the hospital infection control (IC) committees and the other sent to all pulmonologists and physicians specialising in infectious disease.

Results: Fourteen IC committees and 72 physicians responded. According to the IC committees, 92% of hospitals had a written TB control plan, but only 37% of the physicians said there was always/almost always a fast track for diagnosing suspected pulmonary TB cases. The majority of the hospitals had an isolation policy (85%) and these patients were always/almost always admitted in separate rooms, according to 70% of physicians. Both HCWs and TB patients used respiratory protection equipment (92%).

Conclusion: These findings indicate that the most basic TB IC measures had been undertaken, but some TB IC measures were not fully implemented at all hospitals. An institutional effort should be made to solve this problem and strengthen TB prevention activities.