Chest radiograph screening for tuberculosis in a Hong Kong prison
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate tuberculosis (TB) screening in prison.
METHOD: All prisoners in a maximum security prison as of 31 October 2001 were screened by chest radiograph (CXR), except for those being followed up for TB or examined by CXR in the last 6 months.
RESULTS: A total of 814 male prisoners aged 34.6 ± 9.6 (mean ± SD) years were successfully screened. Of 53 cases (6.51%) with radiographic abnormalities, 10 active TB cases (8 culture-negative, 2 culture-positive) were diagnosed, giving an overall yield of 1.23% (95%CI 0.59–2.26). There was no statistical difference in age, ethnicity, place of birth or residency status between those with and those without TB (all P > 0.05). Incarceration ≥2 years, being in current prison ≥2 years and not having CXR in last 2 years were associated with TB in univariate analysis (all P < 0.05), but only the last remained an independent predictor in multiple logistic regression (OR 16.8, 95%CI 2.1–132.9, P = 0.008). In that group, the yield was 3.1% (95%CI 1.42–5.89). No further cases were detected in the subsequent 2 years.
CONCLUSION: CXR screening of long-stay prisoners gave a high yield in this study.
Keywords: prison; screening; tuberculosis
Document Type: Regular Paper
Affiliations: 1: Department of Health, TB and Chest Service, Hong Kong, China 2: TB and Chest Unit, Grantham Hospital, Hong Kong, China 3: Department of Health, Public Health Laboratory, Hong Kong SAR, China
Publication date: 01 June 2005
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