Abstract:

Active pulmonary tuberculosis (APTB) patients are highly infectious before anti-TB drugs are administered, and hospitalization is ideal for patients and their families. They are the main source of TB infection. However, the article “Factors affecting the hospitalization treatment of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Chaoyang District, Beijing” shows that 76.83% of smear-positive tuberculosis patients do not choose hospitalization, which poses a health threat to their close contacts living together. In recent years, China has done some work in tuberculosis infection control, and carried out a series of training and research. However, there are no systematic guidelines or documents on how to carry out infection control for tuberculosis patients treated at home in China or abroad. Therefore, authorized by Beijing Science and Technology Commission in 2018, we organized national and local experts in tuberculosis prevention and control, clinical, management, nursing and other fields to draft “Suggestions on infection control of active pulmonary tuberculosis patients treated at home”, which were formed through three rounds of expert consultation and one round of email expert consultation. This article briefly introduces the infection control requirements and suggestions of home treatment management for active pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their close contacts, including isolation of patients, cough etiquette, wearing of masks, infection control of patients going out, hand washing, home setting and ventilation, daily disinfection, etc. At the end of the article, the limitations of this proposal are explained, and the future development are also prospected.

Key words: Tuberculosis,pulmonary, Deinstitutionalization, Case management, Family practice, Infection control, Sanitation