Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in inmates recently incarcerated in a men's prison in Barcelona

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 60 - 64
• Main Authors: Marco, A., Solé, N., Orcau, A., Escribano, M., del Baño, L., Quintero, S., Caylà, J. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris, France International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 01.01.2012; International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - epidemiology; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Chi-Square Distribution; Coinfection - epidemiology; Confidence Intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data; HIV Infections - epidemiology; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Latent Tuberculosis - diagnosis; Latent Tuberculosis - epidemiology; Latent Tuberculosis - ethnology; Logistic Models; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Mass Screening - statistics & numerical data; Medical sciences; Multivariate Analysis; Mycobacterium; Odds Ratio; Pneumology; Predictive Value of Tests; Prevalence; Prisoners - statistics & numerical data; Prisons; Prisons - statistics & numerical data; Respiratory system : syndromes and miscellaneous diseases; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Screening; Spain - epidemiology; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology; Time Factors; Tuberculin Skin Test; Tuberculin Test - statistics & numerical data; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Tuberculosis Prevention And Control; Spain; Spain, Cataluna, Barcelona; Europe; Africa; Latin America; Human; screening; Carceral environment; Prevalence; Respiratory disease; Latent tuberculosis; Exploration; Tuberculin; Medical screening; Epidemiology; tuberculin skin test; Infection; Prevention; Control; tuberculosis prevention and control; prisons; Pneumology; Skin test
• ISSN: 1027-3719; 1815-7920
• DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.11.0007

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in prisoners.METHODS: Among inmates admitted to a men's preventive detention prison in Barcelona during May-June 2009, without a previous positive tuberculin skin test (TST), a ≥10 mm TST was considered positive (5 mm in human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infected persons). A multivariate logistic regression was performed, calculating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).RESULTS: A total of 221 individuals were included. The average age was 33.5 years (±8.9 SD); 61.6% were foreigners and 45.2% were heroine and/or cocaine users; 40.3% had LTBI. The infection was associated with age >40 years (OR 3.10, 95%CI 1.51-6.35) and having been born in Eastern Europe (OR 4.3, 95%CI 1.4-12.8), North Africa (OR 2.2, 95%CI 1.01-4.7), sub-Saharan Africa (OR 7.6, 95%CI 1.3-44) or Latin America (OR 3.8, 95%CI 1.5-9.3). Subjects infected with HIV had a lower risk of a positive TST (OR 0.22, 95%CI 0.04-1.07). Only 31 (14%) did not present any of these risk factors, and 8 (25.8%) had LTBI.CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of LTBI was very high in this study, and systematic screening of all inmates at the time of entry into the prison is therefore recommended. Excluding those who do not fall in any of the high-risk prevalence groups from the evaluation complicates the screening and is not very effective.