TY  - JOUR
T1  - DRug dependence, a possible new risk factor for tuberculosis disease
AU  - Reichman LB, Felton CP, Edsall JR
Y1  - 1979/03/01
N1  - 10.1001/archinte.1979.03630400053020
JO  - Archives of Internal Medicine
SP  - 337
EP  - 339
VL  - 139
IS  - 3
N2  - A study was performed to assess the risk of drug-dependent persons for developing tuberculosis. Tuberculosis prevalence was 3,740/100,000 drug-dependent inpatients compared with 584/100,000 non-drug-dependent discharges. In another program, prevalence was 3,750/100,000; in the New York Methadone Program, prevalence was 2,652/100,000 patients in Harlem and 1,372/100,000 city-wide. The city-wide prevalence rate in the entire population was 86.7/100,000 in 1971 and 64.7/100,000 in 1973. Similar elevations in incidence also were found in drug-dependent vs non-drug-dependent populations.Our data show that disease rate is elevated in drug-dependent populations, suggesting that drug dependency reflects a high-risk situation for tuberculous infected individuals developing tuberculosis disease. We suggest that infected drug-dependent persons (tuberculin positive) be considered for preventive therapy with isoniazid, which can be piggybacked onto a drug treatment program.(Arch Intern Med 139:337-339, 1979)
SN  - 0003-9926
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archinte.1979.03630400053020
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinte.1979.03630400053020
ER  -