Tuberculosis prevention for non-US-born pregnant women.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether non-US-born pregnant women receiving prenatal care are targeted for treatment of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) with isoniazid (INH) to prevent active TB.


METHODS
This was a retrospective chart review study of 730 non-US-born pregnant women receiving care at 5 New York City prenatal clinics from 1999 to 2000.


RESULTS
Among 678 women with known tuberculin skin test (TST) status, 341 (50.3%) had a TST-positive result, including 200 who were newly diagnosed. Of 291 TST-positive women with no previous LTBI treatment or history of TB, 27 (9.3%) completed > or =6 months of INH. In a subset with detailed follow-up, the most important reasons for not completing treatment were nonreferral for evaluation of a TST-positive result (30.9%), not keeping the appointment (17.9%), and nonadherence with prescribed treatment (34.6%).


CONCLUSIONS
The prenatal setting represents a missed opportunity to link TST-positive non-US-born women with LTBI treatment and support for treatment completion.
Sackoff
Judith E
JE
Department of Medicine/Preventive Medicine and Community Health, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA. jes20@columbia.edu
Pfeiffer
Melissa R
MR
Driver
Cynthia R
CR
Streett
Lynda S
LS
Munsiff
Sonal S
SS
DeHovitz
Jack A
JA
D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007538:Isoniazid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014374:Tuberculin Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014481:United States
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D007538:Isoniazid