Saunders et al used a score to assess household contacts of a patient with tuberculosis. This can help to determine the risk that contacts have had a significant exposure. The authors are from multiple institutions in Peru, Imperial College London, University of Liverpool and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
Selection: household contacts of an index tuberculosis patient
Parameters:
(1) age of index patient (with tuberculosis)
(2) type of tuberculosis
(3) maximum number of hours that a contact had with index patient while the patient was coughing
(4) level of schooling for female head of household (if no female, then male head of household)
(5) amount of money spent on food relative to other tuberculosis-affected households
(6) drug use by any member of household
(7) any contact a child (< 15 years of age)
(8) number of lower weight adult contacts
(9) number of normal weight adult contacts
(10) number of past or present household members who previously had tuberculosis (other than the currently diagnosed index patient)
|
Parameter
|
Finding
|
Points
|
|
age of index patient
|
< 20 years
|
22
|
|
|
20 to 49 years
|
11
|
|
|
>= 50 years
|
0
|
|
type of tuberculosis
|
pulmonary; smear 3+
|
32
|
|
|
pulmonary, smear 2+
|
24
|
|
|
pulmonary, smear 1+
|
16
|
|
|
pulmonary, smear negative
|
8
|
|
|
extra-pulmonary
|
0
|
|
number of contact hours
|
< 72 hours
|
0
|
|
|
72 to 335 hours
|
9
|
|
|
> 335 hours (14 days)
|
18
|
|
education level
|
no formal
|
12
|
|
|
primary only
|
12
|
|
|
incomplete secondary
|
8
|
|
|
completed secondary
|
4
|
|
|
completed higher education
|
0
|
|
money spent on food
|
less
|
9
|
|
|
same or more
|
0
|
|
household member current drug user
|
no
|
0
|
|
|
yes
|
14
|
|
age of youngest contact
|
< 15
|
13
|
|
|
>= 15
|
0
|
|
number of low weight contacts
|
|
12 *
|
|
number of normal weight contacts
|
|
5 *
|
|
number of household members with TB other than index patient
|
|
7 *
|
total score =
= SUM(points for all of the parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: potentially high, > 150
|
Representative Scores
|
TB Positive Conctacts
|
|
25
|
2%
|
|
48
|
5%
|
|
72
|
10%
|
|
93
|
20%
|
|
115
|
33%
|
|
133
|
50%
|
