The hospital tuberculosis registry: an aid to infection control.

Maintenance of a "central tuberculosis registry" has been proposed to facilitate communication between hospital personnel and other persons such as members of health departments and practicing physicians involved in the care of patients. A 5-year experience revealed additional benefits: (1) recognition, and partial correction, of deficiencies in tuberculin testing; (2) recognition and termination of a pseudoepidemic of false positive acid-fast bacilli smears; (3) increased frequency with which patients were placed in respiratory isolation at the time of admission to the hospital; and (4) decrease in the indicence of tuberculin conversions among hospital employees. It is suggested that such a registry should be included in all hospital infection control programs.