Control of Pulmonary Tuberculosis among the Nursing Personnel in Hospital Institutions

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the most important public health problems worldwide. The healthcare personnel are more likely to contract infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, because of their increased exposure to patients with the disease.

Objective: To systematize the control of pulmonary tuberculosis among the nursing personnel in hospital institutions.

Methods: An integrative review in the SciELO and Medline databases was carried out, using the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) tuberculosis/tuberculose [tuberculosis], Personal de Enfermería/pessoal de enfermagem/health personnel [nursing personnel], prevención/prevenção/prevention, through the Boolean operators AND and OR. The analysis categories were established for better knowledge organization. The established inclusion criterions were complete articles published in Spanish, Portuguese and English, which clearly referred to the methodology and obtained results. Ten references were included, showing that there are several factors for the transmission of the tuberculosis bacillus in the health care personnel, as being the number of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis attended per year. Awareness-raising is essential concerning measures for its control. Publications document experiences regarding the application of control measures, with their respective recommendations, by analyzing their advantages, disadvantages and, in some cases, their cost-effectiveness.

Conclusions: Scientific evidence show that tuberculosis control measures in hospital institutions are an effective strategy for preventing transmission of the disease to nursing personnel.