Safety study of tuberculosis preventive treatment for new entrants to school in Banan District,Chongqing City

HUI Xia; GAO Pan; LUO Qiqin; YU Yuanyuan; TI Yanyu; MU Liying; GAN Xinrong; NIE Jingmin

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1007-8134.2025.04.011

Abstract：Objective To investigate the current status of latent tuberculosis infection(LTBI)among new school entrants in Banan District,Chongqing,as well as their knowledge of tuberculosis awareness,and to explore the safety of the 3H2P2 tuberculosis preventive treatment(TPT)regimen for this population.Methods Newly enrolled students in Banan District,Chongqing,in 2024,will undergo a purified protein derivative(PPD)skin test.Those who test positive for PPD will undergo additional chest X-ray screening and,if they voluntarily choose,a recombinant mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion protein(EC)skin test.Students who test positive for either the PPD or EC skin test,and have normal chest X-ray results,will voluntarily undergo TPT.A questionnaire survey on tuberculosis awareness was conducted among outpatient tuberculosis screening candidates through the Wenjuanxing platform.Results A total of 7 234 new students in Banan District,Chongqing,underwent tuberculosis screening,including 357 primary school students,2 625 junior high school students,3 871 high school students,and 381 university students.According to the criteria of positive PPD skin test and negative chest radiography,533 LTBI were screened,with a detection rate of 7.37%.Among them,there were 36 primary school students(detection rate 10.08%),280 junior high school students(detection rate 10.67%),198 high school students(detection rate 5.11%),and 19 university students(detection rate 4.99%).There was a statistical difference in the detection rate of LTBI among different educational stages,with primary and junior high schools having higher rates than high schools and universities(P＜0.05).There were 231 male students with LTBI(detection rate 6.50%)and 302 female students(detection rate 8.20%),with a higher detection rate in females than in males(P＜0.05);According to the criteria of positive EC skin test and negative chest radiography,a total of 84 LTBI cases were screened,of which 67 received preventive treatment with the 3H2P2 regimen.The acceptance rate varied among different educational stages,with junior high school and high school students having a higher acceptance rate than college students(P＜0.05);The TPT safety of the 3H2P2 regimen was good,with 65 out of 67 students receiving TPT successfully completing the treatment,and there was no significant difference in the completion rate between the different educational stages(P＞0.05).The questionnaire survey found that the awareness rate of tuberculosis knowledge is low and varies greatly(1.92%to 86.78%),but students generally hope to receive professional tuberculosis-related knowledge and prefer large-scale publicity activities involving professional medical personnel to obtain relevant knowledge.Conclusions The use of EC skin test in student population can reduce the false positive rate of PPD skin test,and the 3H2P2 regimen for preventive anti-tuberculosis treatment has good safety.However,students have a low awareness rate of tuberculosis science knowledge,and professional publicity efforts need to be strengthened.