title: Latent tuberculosis infection among a large cohort of medical students at a teaching hospital in Italy.
abstract: The surveillance of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in both healthcare workers and healthcare students is considered fundamental for tuberculosis (TB) prevention. The aim of the present study was to estimate LTBI prevalence and evaluate potential risk-factors associated with this condition in a large cohort of medical students in Italy. In a cross-sectional study, performed between March and December 2012, 1511 eligible subjects attending the Medical School of the University of Genoa, trained at the IRCCS San Martino-IST Teaching Hospital of Genoa, were actively called to undergo the tuberculin skin test (TST). All the TST positive cases were confirmed with an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). A standardized questionnaire was collected for multivariate risk analysis. A total of 1302 (86.2%) students underwent TST testing and completed the questionnaire. Eleven subjects (0.8%) resulted TST positive and LTBI diagnosis was confirmed in 2 (0.1%) cases. Professional exposure to active TB patients (OR 21.7, 95% CI 2.9-160.2; P value 0.003) and previous BCG immunization (OR 28.3, 95% CI 3.0-265.1; P value 0.003) are independently associated with TST positivity. Despite the low prevalence of LTBI among Italian medical students, an occupational risk of TB infection still exists in countries with low circulation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy ; Postgraduate School in Occupational Medicine, University of Genoa and Occupational Medicine Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5047-5176
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Durando
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6473-9870
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alicino
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2433-9610
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barberis
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7782-8039
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paganino
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate School in Occupational Medicine, University of Genoa and Occupational Medicine Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0497-4879
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dini
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Infectious Diseases Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzarello
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Infectious Diseases Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Del Bono
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Infectious Diseases Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viscoli
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate School in Occupational Medicine, University of Genoa and Occupational Medicine Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Copello
authors.affiliation: Health Safety and Prevention Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sossai
authors.affiliation: Quality and Risk Management Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orengo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sticchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ansaldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa and Hygiene and Infection Control Unit, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST teaching Hospital, Largo R. Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8463-8487
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Icardi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D055985:Latent Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014374:Tuberculin Test