title: Quality improvement of tuberculosis screening in foreign-born patients.
abstract: In the United States, a disproportionate percentage of tuberculosis (TB) cases occur in foreign-born persons. We implemented a performance improvement project to improve rates of screening for latent tuberculosis infection in a medical clinic. A questionnaire was developed to identify patients for tuberculosis screening, which was performed as a Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). Patients with positive skin tests underwent further testing. One hundred and sixty-five patients were screened, with 58 TSTs ordered and 36 placed. Twenty-seven patients returned to have the TST read with 12 positive. Eleven of these patients had chest X-rays, 2 revealing findings suggestive of active TB. This project identifies the importance of a standardized TB screening process for high-risk patients and identifies barriers to such a process.
authors: School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. jkempke@emory.edu
authors: Jordan A
authors: JA
authors: Kempker
authors: Francisco J
authors: FJ
authors: Pasquel
authors: Maria S
authors: MS
authors: Castejon
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Acosta
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Zaragoza-Macias
authors: Nurcan
authors: N
authors: Ilksoy
authors: Stacy
authors: S
authors: Higgins
authors: Ildefonso
authors: I
authors: Tellez
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