METHODS: This was a prospective multicenter study conducted in Sindh. Children aged ≤14 years enrolled from June to November 2016 were included. A structured data collection tool was used to gather information with respect to patients' socio-demographic, clinical and microbiological data. Additionally, to collect the information related to socio-economic and education level of caregivers, validated questionnaire was administered to the caregivers. Treatment outcomes were assessed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The relationship of unsuccessful treatment outcome with socio-demographic and clinical attributes of TB patients was analyzed using logistic regression model.
RESULTS: Childhood TB represented 19.3% (508/2634) of all TB cases in selected hospitals. Of these, 268/508 (52.8%) were females and one third of the children were aged ≤2 years (34.3%). In multivariate analysis, pulmonary smear positive TB (PTB+) (AOR = 5.910, 95%CI = 1.64-21.29), those with adverse drug reactions (AOR = 11.601, 95%CI = 4.06-33.12) and those who had known TB contacts (AOR = 3.128, 95%CI = 1.21-8.06) showed statistically significant association with unsuccessful treatment outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS: The high proportion of childhood TB cases (19.3%) demonstrates the continuation of TB transmission in the study setting. Furthermore, an increased focus on PTB+ patients, those with adverse drug reactions and household contact with TB is warranted.
Methods: For this retrospective study, records of TB children (≤14 years) registered for the treatment of TB from January 2011 to December 2015 in three districts of Pakistan, were collected. Demographic data, baseline weight, clinical manifestations, radiography, histopathology results and treatment outcomes were collected from TB unit registers.
Results: A total of 2,167 children were treated for TB during the study period. Of these, 1,199 (55.3%) were females and 1,242 (57.3%) were from urban areas. Over three-quarter of patients (76.9%) had pulmonary TB with 13.3% of sputum smear positive cases. The overall treatment success rate was 92.4%. In multivariate analysis, rural residents (OR: 2.146, p
METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted where 443 caregivers, of 508 children with active TB receiving treatment, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the risk factors for TB.
RESULTS: A total of 2397 family members at the median of 5 persons were recorded. Of these, 223 (9.3%) were screened on symptoms basis and 35 (15.7%) of these contacts were diagnosed with TB. Multivariate analysis revealed HHC with TB (OR = 15.288, 95% CI: 5.378-43.457), HHC with smoking (OR = 7.094, 95% CI: 2.128-23.648), and contact of > 18 h with TB individual (OR = 4.681, 95% CI: 1.198-18.294) as statistically significant risk factors of TB among the HHC.
CONCLUSION: With the current system of contact screening for TB, only 9.3% of all HHC were screened. The low rates of contacts screened are possibly a repercussion of the passive nature of the program, which mainly depend on distinctive clinical symptoms being experienced by the contacts. Strategies are required to certify adherence with contact screening among children with active TB and to critically consider the factors responsible for TB transmission.
METHODS: This prospective study was conducted among the caregivers of 443 child TB patients registered during the study. Caregivers of children were queried using a structured questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic and socio-economic factors and the role of healthcare workers during the treatment course. Risk factors for non-adherence were estimated using a logistic regression model.
RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, the independent variables that had a statistically significant positive association with non-adherence were male sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 5.870 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.99 to 17.29]), age ≥45 y (AOR 5.627 [95% CI 1.88 to 16.82]), caregivers with no formal education (AOR 3.905 [95% CI 1.29 to 11.79]), financial barriers (AOR 30.297 [95% CI 6.13 to 149.54]), insufficient counselling by healthcare workers (AOR 5.319 [95% CI 1.62 to 17.42]), insufficient counselling by health professionals (AOR 4.117 [95% CI 1.05 to 16.05]) and unfriendly attitude and poor support from healthcare professionals (AOR 11.150 [95% CI 1.91 to 65.10]).
CONCLUSIONS: Treatment adherence in the present study was 86% using the Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale and 90.7% using the visual analogue scale tool. Predictors of non-adherence need to be a focus and caregivers should be given complete knowledge about the importance of adherence to TB treatment.
Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in the Sindh province, Pakistan. A total of 508 TB children in multicenter hospitals under ATT were assessed for ADRs. Naranjo Causality Assessment and Hartwig's Severity Assessment Scale were used.
Results: A total of 105 ADRs were reported in 67 (13.2%) of 508 patients. Gastrointestinal disorders were the most frequently observed ADRs (65.7%), followed by arthralgia (24.8%). Around 65 (61.9%) of ADRs were identified as probable and 78 (74.3%) as mild severe ADRs during the study. A total of four cases of mild hepatotoxicity were observed among children. On multivariate analysis, the independent variables which had statistically significant positive association with ADRs were female (OR; 2.66, P = 0.004), retreatment (OR; 22.32, P = ≤ 0.001), and absence of BCG scar (OR; 17.84, P = 0.001).
Conclusions: The finding of the current study suggests that close monitoring of females, patients with previous TB treatment, and those without BCG is warranted at the study site.
Aims: The study aimed to estimate the rate of delayed sputum conversion and explore its predicting factors at the end of the intensive phase among smear-positive PTB (PTB +ve) patients.
Methods: A 3-year retrospective study was conducted in the government hospital in Pulau Pinang from 2016 to 2018. During the study, a standardized, data collection form was used to collect data from the patient record. Patients aged over 18 years were recruited. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant independent variables associated with delayed sputum conversion.
Results: A total 1128 of PTB patients were recorded visiting the TB clinic, 736 (65.2%) were diagnosed as PTB +ve; of these, 606 (82.3%) PTB +ve had a record of sputum conversion at the end of the intensive phase. Age ≥ 50 years, blue-collar jobs, smoking, heavy bacillary load, relapsed and treatment interrupted were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with delayed sputum conversion. Delayed sputum conversion rate at the end of the intensive phase was 30.5%.
Conclusion: The rate of sputum smear conversion in the intensive phase of treatment was independently associated with high sputum smear grading at diagnosis, relapsed and treatment interrupted categories, old age and blue-collar occupations.
METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the TB clinic of Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, and an osteoporosis knowledge test (OKT), a structured questionnaire, was used to collect data. TB patients aged 18 years and above with compromised bone health were included in the present study. Overall knowledge scores were dichotomized, calculating the mean score, descriptive statistics, and multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the influence of risk factors on knowledge scores.
RESULTS: Of 337 patients, 129(38.28 %) had good osteoporosis knowledge and 208(61.72 %) had poor knowledge. Among them, 231(68.54 %) were males, and 106(31.45 %) were females, with a mean age of 46.5 ± 17.1 years. The mean ± SD of OKT total score was 10.5 ± 2.0. The mean ± SD of the exercise knowledge score was 5.3 ± 3.4, while the nutrition knowledge score was 5.0 ± 3.2. Male gender (OR 3.86, 95 % CI 1.98-7.53), low-income level (OR 1.92, 95 % CI 1.12-3.30), rural residents (OR 2.49, 95 % CI 1.46-4.27) and participants with no formal education (OR 4.34, 95 % CI 1.11-16.84) or ≤12 years of education (OR 3.63, 95 % CI 1.52-8.65) were significantly responsible for poor OKT score.
CONCLUSION: The results indicated that most TB patients had a poor perception of osteoporosis. More extensive strategies should be developed to enhance the campaign of awareness programs among TB patients to improve preventive measures of osteoporosis, such as calcium intake and exercise.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to recognize the epidemiology facts of EPTB. Individual data for EPTB patients were collected from TB registers, laboratory TB registers, treatment cards and TB medical personal files into a standardized study questionnaire. Crude (COR) and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were determined to assess the risk factors for EPTB and unsuccessful treatment outcomes.
RESULTS: There were 1222 EPTB patients presenting 13.1% of all TB cases during 2006-2008. Pleural effusion and lymph node TB were the most frequent types and accounted for 45.1% of all EPTB cases among study participants. Treatment success rate was 67.6%. The best treatment completion rates were found in children ≤15 years (0.478 [0.231-1.028]; p = 0.05). On multivariate analysis, age group 56-65 years (1.658 [1.157-2.376]; p = 0.006), relapse cases (7.078 [1.585-31.613]; p = 0.010), EPTB-DM (1.773 [1.165-2.698]; p = 0.008), patients with no formal (2.266 [1.254-4.095]; p = 0.001) and secondary level of education (1.889 [1.085-3.288]; p = 0.025) were recorded as statistically positive significant risk factors for unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Patients at the risk of EPTB were more likely to be females (1.524 [1.311-1.746]; p