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d’Ettorre G, Karaj S, Piscitelli P, Maiorano O, Attanasi C, Tornese R, Carluccio E, Giannuzzi P, Greco E, Ceccarelli G, d’Ettorre G, Lobreglio G, Congedo P, Broccolo F, Miani A. Right to Occupational Safety: Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Healthcare Workers. A 1-Year Retrospective Survey Carried out at Hospital of Lecce (Italy). EPIDEMIOLOGIA 2023; 4:454-463. [PMID: 37987310 PMCID: PMC10660459 DOI: 10.3390/epidemiologia4040038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prevention of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in healthcare workers (HCWs) to ensure the "Right to Occupational Safety" is a special challenge globally, as HCWs have a higher risk of acquiring the infection in hospital settings because of frequent close exposure to patients suffering from tuberculosis (TB). METHODS Aretrospective study was performed with the aim of assessing the prevalence of LTBI related to demographical and occupational risk factors among HCWs employed in a large hospital in Italy. The study involved 1461 HCWs screened for LTBI by Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) and then confirmed with Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) test in case of positivity. Immunosuppressed and BGC-vaccinated workers were tested directly with IGRA. RESULTS LTBI was diagnosed in 4.1% of the HCWs and the prevalence resulted lower than other studies conducted in low TB incidence countries. The variables significantly linked with higher frequency of the infection were: age ≥40 years (OR = 3.14; 95% CI: 1.13-8.74; p < 0.05), length of service ≥15 years (OR = 4.11; 95% CI: 1.48-11.43; p < 0.05) and not being trained on TB prevention (OR = 3.46; 95% CI: 1.85-6.46; p < 0.05). Not trained HCWs presented a higher risk of LTBI also after adjustment for age and length of service, compared to trained HCWs. CONCLUSIONS screening of HCWs for LTBI should be always considered in routinely occupational surveillance in order to early diagnose the infection and prevent its progression. Safety policies in hospital settings centered on workers' training on TB prevention is crucial to minimize LTBI occurrence in HCWs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele d’Ettorre
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Stela Karaj
- Faculty of Social Sciences, European University of Tirana, 1000 Tirana, Albania;
| | - Prisco Piscitelli
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy;
- Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, 20123 Milan, Italy; (E.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Osvaldo Maiorano
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Carmen Attanasi
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Roberta Tornese
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Eugenia Carluccio
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Paolo Giannuzzi
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Enrico Greco
- Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, 20123 Milan, Italy; (E.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Giancarlo Ceccarelli
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (G.C.); (G.d.)
| | - Gabriella d’Ettorre
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (G.C.); (G.d.)
| | - Giambattista Lobreglio
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Pierpaolo Congedo
- Vito Fazzi Hospital, Local Health Authority ASL Le, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (G.d.); (O.M.); (C.A.); (R.T.); (E.C.); (P.G.); (G.L.); (P.C.)
| | - Francesco Broccolo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy;
| | - Alessandro Miani
- Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, 20123 Milan, Italy; (E.G.); (A.M.)
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Thirunavukkarasu A, Alrawaili KAH, Al-Hazmi AH, Dar UF, ALruwaili B, Mallick A, Wani FA, Alsirhani AIE. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Occupational Health Hazards among Health Care Workers of Northern Saudi Arabia: A Multicenter Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:11489. [PMID: 34770004 PMCID: PMC8583691 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182111489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Health care workers (HCWs) working in different health care facilities are exposed to many hazards, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence, pattern, and risk factors of occupational health hazards faced by 438 randomly selected HCWs from northern Saudi Arabia. The HCWs are commonly exposed to needle stick injuries (34.5%) under the biological hazards category; and work-related stress (69.6%) under the non-biological hazards categories. The significant associated factors were work setting (ref: Primary Health Center: Adjusted OR (AOR) = 2.81, 95%CI = 1.21-4.59, p = 0.017), smoking status (ref.: non-smoker: AOR = 1.73, 95%CI = 1.03-2.91, p = 0.039), and mean sleeping duration per day (AOR = 1.22, 95%CI = 1.04-1.43, p = 0.014) for biological, and smoking status (ref: non-smoker: AOR = 2.16, 95%CI = 1.09-3.29, p = 0.028), and mean sleeping duration per day (AOR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.07-1.70, p = 0.013) for non-biological categories. This study revealed several risk factors and occupational health hazards that HCWs are exposed to during their work time. Periodic training and follow-up assessments regarding bio-safety measures for the HCWs should be implemented. Finally, future explorative studies are warranted on the feasibility of implementing rotation-based postings for the HCWs in different health care settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashokkumar Thirunavukkarasu
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia; (A.H.A.-H.); (U.F.D.); (B.A.); (A.M.)
| | | | - Ahmad Homoud Al-Hazmi
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia; (A.H.A.-H.); (U.F.D.); (B.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Umar Farooq Dar
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia; (A.H.A.-H.); (U.F.D.); (B.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Bashayer ALruwaili
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia; (A.H.A.-H.); (U.F.D.); (B.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Ayesha Mallick
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia; (A.H.A.-H.); (U.F.D.); (B.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Farooq Ahmed Wani
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia;
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