title: [Nationwide survey of suitability of tuberculosis wards for in-hospital care of tuberculosis patients].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To clarify the situation and suitability of tuberculosis wards for in-hospital tuberculosis care, with a view toward establishing a national standard for tuberculosis wards.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained by sending questionnaires to all 321 tuberculosis wards in Japan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the hospitals to which questionnaires were sent, 69.3% returned their responses. In most of these hospitals, the total number of beds in one tuberculosis ward was either less than 20 or more than 40. In approximately two-thirds of the hospitals, tuberculosis wards were incorporated into another (non-tuberculosis) ward. In more than 70% of the hospitals, the mean hospital stay of tuberculosis patients exceeded 40 days. This relatively long hospital stay implies that amenities are a very important issue in tuberculosis wards; however, amenities were generally far from sufficient in most of the hospitals. Of all the tuberculosis beds, 18.2% were in single-occupant rooms and 19.4% had a sufficient floor area (more than 15 m2). Beds in single-occupant rooms with sufficient floor area, equipped with a toilet, bath or shower, washstand, negative-pressure control, and HEPA filter in an air exhaust duct, comprised 2.4% of all tuberculosis beds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In spite of the relatively long hospital stays, amenities were generally less than adequate. The conditions in most tuberculosis wards were far below the presumptive recommended standards. When national standards for tuberculosis wards are established, these findings should be taken into consideration.
authors: Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association, 3-1-24, Matsuyama, Kiyose-shi, Tokyo 204-8533, Japan. ito@jata.or.jp
authors: Kunihiko
authors: K
authors: Ito
authors: Yoko
authors: Y
authors: Nagata
authors: Minako
authors: M
authors: Urakawa
authors: Seiya
authors: S
authors: Kato
mesh_terms: D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D007564:Japan; D007902:Length of Stay; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000628:therapy*