title: [Tuberculosis in health care personnel in a general hospital].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tuberculosis is an occupational disease in health care workers. The objective of our study was to review tuberculosis cases in health care professionals from a general hospital and to determine their incidence in relation to the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective study of tuberculosis cases among health care workers in a university hospital from 1988 to 2002, evaluating the annual cumulative incidence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  21 tuberculosis cases were found in health care workers. Pulmonary disease was the most frequent type (62%) followed by pleural effusion (28%). The most affected professional category were medical residents (38%) with the emergency service (48%) being the work place with the highest risk. The cumulative incidence in our hospital was higher in relation to the general population although there was a variability between both populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is risk of tuberculosis transmission among health care workers, principally in the emergency service and the pathology and microbiological departments. A concerted effort is needed to maintain prevention measures in the work place where there is a high risk of infection.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumologia, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Manzano
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Andreo
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marín
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prat
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Esteve
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission