Tuberculosis screening among foreign-born persons applying for permanent US residence.

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to determine adherence of physicians to tuberculosis (TB) screening guidelines among foreign-born persons living in the United States who were applying for permanent residency.

METHODS

Medical forms of applicants from 5 geographic areas were reviewed, along with information from a national physician database on attending physicians. Applicant and corresponding physician characteristics were compared among those who were and were not correctly screened.

RESULTS

Of 5739 applicants eligible for screening via tuberculin skin test, 75% were appropriately screened. Except in San Diego, where 11% of the applicants received no screening, most of the inappropriate screening resulted from the use of chest x-rays as the initial screening tool.

CONCLUSIONS

Focused physician education and periodic monitoring of adherence to screening guidelines are warranted.