Objectives: To conduct a survey of the working of the Wetmore TB Clinic and to evaluate and analyze the follow-up data of the patient population diagnosed with latent TB infection (LTBI) at the Louisiana Office of Public Health (OPH) Region 1 Wetmore TB Clinic.
Methods: This data analysis, initiated as a student practicum course, is based on a chart review of patients attending the Wetmore TB Clinic between 1 January 2006 and 30 June 2007. Only those patients with a diagnosis of LTBI were included in the survey.
Result: The total survey population in this data analysis consisted of 380 LTBI patients. Results were analyzed for demographic data, TB risk factors, referral sources and treatment outcomes. Forty-three per cent of all the patients with LTBI displayed at least one of these risk factors. Adherence rates for LTBI treatment were low, at 19%.
Conclusions: Post-Katrina New Orleans presents a challenging environment for TB control. This study forms a basis for further planning, provision and evaluation of services to this population. Its results and conclusions could be reflective of similar issues pertaining to public health TB clinics in other cities where displacement of patients, movement of migratory transient workers and disbanded infrastructure due to natural or man-made disasters could pose a problem.