Latent Tuberculosis Infection: Treatment Initiation and Completion Rates in Persons Seeking Immigration and Health Care Workers.

Background: We assessed the factors associated with initiation and completion rates of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection treatment in persons evaluated at an infectious diseases outpatient clinic in central Massachusetts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there may be up to 14 million persons in the United States with a latent TB infection. The risk of developing active TB in these persons can range from 5% to 15%. Hence, treatment of latent TB infection is an important aspect of any plan attempting to eradicate TB from the United States.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients referred to our outpatient infectious diseases clinic from December 2006 to October 2010.

Results: Overall treatment initiation and completion rates were 76% and 68%, respectively, in our cohort. Two factors that were statistically significant for higher rates of treatment completion were 4 or more follow-up visits during the course of treatment (P < 0.001) and persons seeking immigration (PSI) to the United States (P < 0.02). Rate of treatment refusal was higher in health care workers as compared to workers not in health care (35% vs 13%, P = 0.004, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.38-4.91).

Conclusion: Our study reveals findings not previously reported in the US literature. We noted a high rate of treatment completion in persons seeking immigration to the United States. The second unique observation is the higher treatment completion rates in persons with 4 or more follow-up visits. We suggest that an emphasis on at least 4 follow-up visits can be an intervention that could improve the overall rates of treatment completion.