Fluxograma de atendimento ao profissional de saúde exposto ao paciente com tuberculose pulmonar

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis is a serious public health problem and approximately 10 million people fall ill from the disease each year across the planet. Although there are recommendations for the treatment and control of the disease, tuberculosis still has a high mortality indicator and affects health professionals. It is known that only after the notification of cases of multidrug resistant tuberculosis was there a greater focus on work activities as a risk factor for the spread of the disease. From this perspective, the safety of these professionals should be an essential factor in planning tuberculosis control actions in health services. Therefore, due to the country’s economic situation, in which there is cost containment, it is necessary to think of low-cost tools capable of minimizing the risks generated as a result of work activities, for example, the development of a technological product, such as a flowchart. Objectives: To develop and validate a flowchart for the care of health professionals exposed to patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Methodology: Methodological study that took place between june 2020 and july 2021, in two stages: 1) Development of the technology content. The flowchart content was prepared by reading the national and international guidelines on the management of health professionals exposed to M. tuberculosis without the use of personal protective equipment (PFF2/N95 mask), profile in the guidelines/manuals from the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2) Technology validation. The content was validated through a consensus among seven expert judges in tuberculosis. To assess the degree of agreement, the Content Validity Index was used, scored according to the Likert scale (1- unclear/not relevant/not relevant; 2 - needs major review to be clear/relevant/relevant; 4 - is clear/relevant/relevant). Results: A flowchart was developed with measures for monitoring health professionals exposed to patients with tuberculosis, based on scientific evidence and validated by judges, with a Content Validity Index of 1.0, being therefore considered clear, pertinent, and relevant. Product: Management technology called: Flowchart of assistance to healthcare professionals exposed to M. tuberculosis without the use of personal protective equipment. Final considerations: The creation of a technological product, in particular this flowchart, emerges as an ally in the process of standardizing the care provided to health professionals. In this way, it was possible not only to build a management technology capable of reaffirming the importance of developing more effective strategies in the universe of tuberculosis in health professionals, but also to elucidate the measures adopted by health services to control the disease in a category that is vulnerable. Furthermore, there is the perspective of adding the flowchart with the Brazilian Hospital Services Company, which headquarters are in Brasília, to later be included as a support tool at the University Hospital Cassiano Antônio Moraes, located in Vitória - ES.