Tuberculosis among resident doctors and nurses in a tertiary care hospital: A case-control study

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the widely rampant infectious diseases worldwide. Healthcare workers (HCWs) such as Medical students and nurses are continuously exposed to this air-borne infection in hospitals and are vulnerable to the infection. Overcrowding at workplace, inadequate ventilation, lack of personal protective measures, improper eating habits, etc., further make the HCWs more susceptible to TB. OBJECTIVES: Study of sociodemographic profile of resident doctors and nurses; study of factors for occurrence of TB among HCWs in a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Case-control study conducted. Questionnaire used to collect data. Comparison was made between the TB cases and controls among HCWs to identify the epidemiological determinants of TB and derive preventive measures for the same. RESULTS: By Chi-Square test, regularity of breakfast P < 0.001; BMI P – 0.001; total duration of exposure to TB patients P – 0.013; screening for TB P – 0.014; adequacy of sleep P – 0.029; adequacy of protein intake P – 0.035 were found to have a significant association with the occurrence of TB. CONCLUSION: Having regular meals at appropriate times, nutritional status, duration of exposure to TB patients, history of screening being done or not were found to have a significant association with the occurrence of TB.