Tuberculosis Testing and Latent Tuberculosis Infection Treatment Practices Among Health Care Providers - United States, 2020-2022

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023 Nov 3;72(44):1183-1189. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7244a2.

Abstract

CDC recommends testing persons at increased risk for tuberculosis (TB) infection as part of routine health care, using TB blood tests, when possible, and, if a diagnosis of latent TB infection (LTBI) is made, prescribing a rifamycin-based, 3- or 4-month treatment regimen (short-course) to prevent the development of TB disease. In 2022, approximately three quarters (73%) of reported TB cases in the United States occurred among non-U.S.-born persons. To assess TB-related practices among health care providers (HCPs) in the United States, CDC analyzed data from the 2020-2022 Porter Novelli DocStyles surveys. Approximately one half (53.3%) of HCPs reported routinely testing non-U.S.-born patients for TB, and of those who did, 35.7% exclusively ordered recommended blood tests, 44.2% exclusively ordered skin tests, and 20.2% ordered TB skin tests and blood tests. One third (33.0%) of HCPs reported prescribing recommended short-course LTBI treatment regimens, and 4.0% reported doing none of the treatment practices available for patients with LTBI (i.e., prescribing short-course regimens, longer course regimens, or referring patients to a health department). Further efforts are needed to identify and overcome barriers for providers to test for and treat persons at risk for TB.

MeSH terms

  • Health Personnel
  • Humans
  • Latent Tuberculosis* / diagnosis
  • Latent Tuberculosis* / drug therapy
  • Latent Tuberculosis* / epidemiology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Tuberculin Test
  • Tuberculosis* / diagnosis
  • Tuberculosis* / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis* / epidemiology
  • United States / epidemiology