Data were collected from electronic medical records and contact investigation reports of the infection control team. Clinical, radiological, and laboratory data of the patients were obtained, including age, sex, comorbidities, previous TB history, symptoms, admission route, main diagnosis, department of admission, exposure days, AFB smear/culture, Xpert MTB/RIF assay, chest radiography, and/or chest computed tomography. TB exposure data, such as exposure site, route of close contact, HCW occupation, and previous TB history, were reviewed. Data on TB contact investigation included baseline/follow-up chest radiographic and IGRA results, newly diagnosed active TB or LTBI cases, and subsequent treatment.
Delayed isolation was defined as the failure to isolate patients with active TB from the negative-pressure isolation room from the beginning of hospitalization. The exposure day was defined as the period from the time of patient admission to isolation. The radiologic findings of index patients were classified to simplified, suspected impression as follows: pneumonia if consolidation or ground-glass opacity was dominant, active TB if cavitation or tree-in-bud pattern was present, old TB if fibrotic scarring or calcification was present, and lung cancer if a mass or nodule was present.
We devised a flowchart summarizing the processes of delayed isolation of patients with TB, and classified the patients into categories according to the patterns of delayed isolation. We analyzed these categories in-depth to identify the impact of delayed isolation on TB transmission.
Delayed isolation was defined as the failure to isolate patients with active TB from the negative-pressure isolation room from the beginning of hospitalization. The exposure day was defined as the period from the time of patient admission to isolation. The radiologic findings of index patients were classified to simplified, suspected impression as follows: pneumonia if consolidation or ground-glass opacity was dominant, active TB if cavitation or tree-in-bud pattern was present, old TB if fibrotic scarring or calcification was present, and lung cancer if a mass or nodule was present.
We devised a flowchart summarizing the processes of delayed isolation of patients with TB, and classified the patients into categories according to the patterns of delayed isolation. We analyzed these categories in-depth to identify the impact of delayed isolation on TB transmission.
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