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CDC publishes guidelines for preventing TB

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, January 3, 2006

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published "Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings" in the December 30 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, meeting its schedule for having new guidelines in 2005.

The new guidelines apply to the following outpatient settings: ambulatory care settings, TB treatment facilities, medical offices, dialysis units, and dental care settings.

The report replaces the 1994 guidelines for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) prevention and subsequent TB updates that focused on specific healthcare facilities.

Prepared in consultation with experts in TB, infection control, environmental control, respiratory protection, and occupational health, the new guidelines encompass more healthcare settings having the potential for TB transmission than in the past guidelines.

"The 1994 CDC guidelines were aimed primarily at hospital-based facilities, which frequently refer to a physical building or set of buildings. The 2005 guidelines have been expanded to address a broader concept. 'Setting' has been chosen instead of 'facility' to expand the scope of potential places for which these guidelines apply," the introduction to the guidelines explains.

The CDC presented a draft version of the guidelines in the December 2004 Federal Register. Click here for the approved version.

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