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The Relationship between Hospital Departments and Risk of Developing Tuberculosis among Nurses Working at a University Hospitalin Korea: Retrospective Cohort Study
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Jin Ha Yoon, Sung Soo Oh, Ki Hyun Lee, Sung Kyung Kim, Je Ho Oh, Chung Se Won, Sei Jin Chang, Bong Suk Cha, Ae Yong Eom, Sang Baek Koh
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Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2011;23(1):64-70. Published online March 31, 2011
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2011.23.1.64
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Abstract
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- OBJECTIVES
To investigate the occurring characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) among nurses working at a university hospital in Korea. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records from a university hospital. A total of 351 nurses without any pulmonary disease were enrolled during 2000~2007, and were followed up until October 2010. To compare with the incidence of TB between occupational subgroups, workplaces were divided into high and low TB-exposure risk departments. For statistical analysis, the relative risks for TB incidences between departments were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models and mean incidences were estimated with person-time years. RESULTS Seven cases of TB were observed during 2001 person-years. Five and two cases were observed in the high and low TB-exposure risk departments, respectively. The relative risk of TB infection in the high TB-exposure risk departments were 6.52 (95% CI, 1.26~33.60) compared to that in the low TB-exposure risk department. The mean incidence of TB in the total nurses was 0.350% per person-year. CONCLUSIONS According to the concept of occupational and environmental medicine, high TB-exposure risk departments were more likely to be at increased risk of tuberculosis.
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