Latent Tuberculosis Infection

An analysis of STI screening for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis at 11 EDs revealed that less than 3% of patients tested for one of the three STIs were also tested for HIV, despite the CDC’s recommendation for HIV co-testing.

It is estimated that approximately one-quarter of the world’s population has latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Although effective therapies are available, these agents can have significant adverse effects that can complicate treatment.

Current practices for latent tuberculosis infection testing may be missing high-risk patients, according to a study assessing factors associated with testing and positivity, researchers said.

Almost half of health care providers in the United States do not routinely test patients born outside the U.S. for tuberculosis, despite CDC recommendations that say they should, a survey found.

Adults who have an increased risk for tuberculosis should be screened for latent TB infection, according to a final recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Self-administered isoniazid-rifapentine taken once weekly — a regimen called 3HP — was associated with higher treatment completion rates for latent tuberculosis infection compared with daily rifampin, according to a study.

The CDC and National Tuberculosis Controllers Association, or NTCA, has published updated recommendations for latent tuberculosis, or LTBI, in the MMWR for the first time since 2000.

Latent tuberculosis infection screening in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa who are treated with TNF alpha inhibitors may be unnecessary, according to a letter published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Among patients with rheumatic diseases, treatment with any biologic increases the risk for tuberculosis, both reactivation and new-onset, with an incidence rate among biologic users that is 10 times higher in South Africa than in European countries, according to data published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Repeat, routine testing for latent tuberculosis infection among patients receiving biologics is both costly and of low clinical value, according to findings presented at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting.