Latent Tuberculosis Infection Screening Using QuantiFERON at Pre-Employment Assessment in Hospital Workers CHu Nice

Relevance of Systematic Latent Tuberculosis Infection Screening Using QuantiFERON at Pre-Employment Assessment in Hospital Workers: A Retrospective Study at the University Hospital of Nice

This retrospective observational single-center study aims to evaluate the medical and occupational relevance of systematic screening for latent tuberculosis infection using QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus during pre-employment occupational health assessment among hospital workers at the University Hospital of Nice. Data will be collected retrospectively from occupational health medical records, immunology laboratory results and, when necessary, data from specialized follow-up by the tuberculosis control center. The primary objective is to determine the proportion of positive QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus tests at pre-employment screening. Secondary objectives are to identify factors associated with a positive test, to describe the practical consequences of screening, including chest X-ray, diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection and initiation of preventive treatment, and to estimate the cost of systematic screening.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Newly recruited hospital workers at the University Hospital of Nice.
• Workers who underwent pre-employment occupational health assessment during the study period.
• Workers who had a QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus test performed as part of pre-employment screening.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Known history of active tuberculosis disease before employment.
• Previously known latent tuberculosis infection before employment.
• Incomplete or unusable occupational health records.
• Indeterminate QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus results will be included in the descriptive analysis but excluded from comparative analyses of test positivity.