Occupational Screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection

Despite a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the general population of many countries, the risk of contracting and/or transmitting the disease remains higher in some occupational settings — particularly health care. Health care workers (HCWs) may be serially screened for TB, although the optimal frequency for cost-effectiveness of serial testing for HCWs remains uncertain. In June 2020, CADTH searched the literature for evidence describing the clinical utility, cost-effectiveness, and evidence-based guidelines concerning serial testing for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in people with a risk of occupational exposure to TB. That report identified 2 economic evaluations and 3 evidence-based guidelines. The purpose of the current report is to summarize and critically appraise the economic evaluations identified previously– to assess the cost-effectiveness of occupational screening for LTBI infection. This report is a component of a larger condition-level review on TB. A CADTH condition-level review involves the identification, assessment, and summary of available evidence specific to a particular health condition, including describing disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management. To learn more about CADTH’s condition-level review describing evidence on TB, please visit https://www.cadth.ca/tuberculosis.