The Incidence of Tuberculosis in Senior

Yi-Chen Tsai

2008 Vol.24 NO.9

Correspondence Author： Donald Dah-Shyong Jiang

Abstract：

During 2004-2006, we investigated all reported tuberculosis (TB) cases from senior centers in Taipei City to choose the confirmed TB cases as our target cases. All related information was collected by self-drafted semi-structured questionnaires. The data were entered, confirmed and defaulted by EPI-INFO 3.3 edition and were subsequently analyzed for incidence and percentage of tuberculosis under based on the cases’ personal background and demographic characteristics.
295 cases were reported from senior centers in Taipei City during 2004-2006, of which 212 cases were confirmed as TB cases. The annual TB incidence from the senior centers was 0.81% (810 cases/100 thousand people), which was 15.5 times higher than that of Taipei City (52.11 cases/100 thousand people) during the same time frame. Among these target cases, 26 cases (12.26%) had TB history.
The annual TB incidence from senior centers was 15.5 times the average rate
in Taipei City and 3.7 times the overall rate for people older than 65 years old. This situation manifests the importance and urgency of TB prophylaxis and treatment in this population. 81 cases (38.2%) with no clinical signs were diagnosed as TB cases during the regular examinations or examinations for people who have had contact with TB patients. Thus, the senior centers should conduct regular and vigorous chest radiology examinations on their residents. In order to detect the recurrence of TB cases, regular follow-up examinations should also be administered for cured patients or patients with treatment cessation.
Keyword: tuberculosis, geriatric residential institution, default, success, relapse, reinfection