Family Tuberculosis Contacts: Resource-Contingent Management

Pust R E (Department of Family and Community Medicine, Universityof Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona 85724, USA).Family tuberculosis contacts: resource-contingent management.Family Practice 1985; 2: 30–34. Recent findings in tuberculosis research have questioned theefficacy of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccinationand demonstrated the effectiveness of combined-drug chemotherapyand isoniazid (INH) chemoprophylaxis, both in regimens of under12 months duration. Because of the renewed emphasis on drugtreatment in tuberculosis control, family physicians and thehealth personnel they supervise need to be involved in thiseffort. Despite differences in health care resources in differentregions, rational and effective management of active cases andtheir contacts in the family can be devised. While the priorityremains treatment of the active index case, family physicianshave a unique opportunity to utilize family relation ships tofind and to treat other active cases and to reinforce compliancewith INH chemoprophylaxis by high-risk family contacts.