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Biomedical subjects

P Nunn

Publications and source records attributed to P Nunn.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

The scourge of HIV-related tuberculosis: a cohort study in a district general hospital in Malawi.

Malawi is similar to a number of other African countries in having an escalating, HIV-related, tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. A prospective study was carried out to determine the pattern of disease and HIV serostatus in unselected, adult, TB patients consecutively admitted to a large, district general hospital in Zomba (in the Southern region of Malawi). Clinical details were obtained, from the district TB register, for the 714, adult TB patients, aged > or = 15 years, who were registered with the district TB officer between 1 July and 31 December in 1995. Patients were counselled, and offered HIV testing using an ELISA and particle agglutination test. Concordant HIV-test results were available for 686 (96%) of the subjects: 547 (80%) of these were HIV-seropositive and 139 seronegative. The HIV-positive patients were significantly younger than the HIV-negative patients and significantly more HIV-positive patients were males (P < 0.05 for each). The proportions of HIV-positive subjects who were new patients, had been previously treated for TB, had pulmonary TB (PTB), had smear-positive PTB or had different types of extrapulmonary TB were similar to those of the HIV-negative. A high percentage of an unselected cohort of adult TB patients admitted to a district, general hospital in Malawi, particularly of the younger age groups was therefore HIV-positive. The pattern of disease was uninfluenced by the HIV serostatus. The large number of cases registered emphasises the severity of the current epidemic of TB in Malawi and its impact upon young adults.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1997

Tuberculosis care in community care organizations in sub-Saharan Africa: practice and potential.

SETTING: Community care organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate current tuberculosis (TB) care in community health care organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, to assess their potential contribution to tuberculosis care, and to develop a model for expanded community participation in effective TB control. DESIGN: Quantitative assessment of tuberculosis care and cross-sectional assessment of qualitative measures in 14 community care organizations in Uganda, Zambia, South Africa and Malawi. RESULTS: The community care organizations assessed mainly provided care for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and aquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients, and received funding from non-governmental organizations. Shortcomings in tuberculosis care included delays in diagnosis (which was often not based on sputum examination), drug shortages, low completion rates, high default rates, inadequate recording, little interaction with government tuberculosis programmes, and inadequate training of staff. However, one organization that provided primarily tuberculosis care and collaborated closely with the district tuberculosis programme and hospital attained a high treatment completion rate. The strong points of the community care organizations that favour a potential role of community participation in tuberculosis care were accessibility and staff motivation. CONCLUSION: Despite most community care organizations' shortcomings in tuberculosis care, they do have the potential to improve the care of tuberculosis patients, thus reducing the load on overstretched health facilities. Their potential impact on tuberculosis control depends on their population coverage and sustainability. HIV/AIDS community care organizations with strengthened management of tuberculosis care could serve as a model for expanded community participation in tuberculosis control. Operational research is needed to assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of community-based TB care.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1997

Practical and affordable measures for the protection of health care workers from tuberculosis in low-income countries.

With the global upsurge in tuberculosis (TB), fueled by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic, and the increase in multidrug-resistant TB, the condition has become a serious occupational hazard for health care workers worldwide. Much of the current understanding about nosocomial TB transmission stems from the USA; however, little is known about the risk of such transmission in low-income countries. The focus of this review is on sub-Saharan Africa, since this is the region with the highest TB incidence, the highest HIV incidence, the worst epidemic of HIV-related TB, and where the risk to health care workers is probably greatest. Measures used in industralized countries to control nosocomial TB transmission (ventilation systems, isolation rooms, personal protective equipment) are beyond the resources of low-income countries. Protecting health care workers in these settings involves practical measures relating to diagnosis and treatment of infectious cases; appropriate environmental control; and relevant personal protection and surveillance of health care workers. Research needs to be carried out to examine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of measures such as voluntary HIV-testing of health care workers (to enable known HIV-positive health care workers to avoid high-risk settings) and isoniazid preventive therapy for workers in high-risk settings. More resources are also needed to ensure full implementation of currently recommended measures to decrease the risk of nosocomial and laboratory-acquired TB.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1997

Case finding for pulmonary tuberculosis, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi.

SETTING: Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the investigation of patients with cough who attend out-patient services and the adherence to recommended diagnostic protocols. DESIGN: Two operational studies in 1995: 1) an audit of management of patients presenting to non-fee-paying out-patient services (OPD) with cough, and 2) an audit of the laboratory sputum register and the OPD cough register. The annual number of out-patient attendances was also recorded. RESULTS: Of 2381 patients seen by OPD medical assistants, 438 (18.4%) complained of cough: 303 for < 3 weeks and 135 for > or = 3 weeks. Sputum smear examinations were requested in 97 patients, 79 (58.5%) with long duration and 18 (5.9%) with short duration of cough. Between May and December 1995, of the 1668 OPD patients who had sputum results in the laboratory register, 1392 (83%) had sputum results in the cough register. Of patients listed in the cough register, 98% collected their sputum smear results. In 1995, there were 395,439 OPD attendances; data extrapolation suggests that about 15,000 patients should have had sputum examined instead of the 2337 listed in the laboratory register. CONCLUSION: A large burden is imposed on out-patient services by patients with cough. Despite recommended protocols, this investigation suggests deficiencies in case detection which require further study.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to thiacetazone, HIV infection and thiacetazone concentrations in plasma.

We have studied the relationship between the plasma concentration-time profile of thiacetazone over the 24 h between doses [AUC(0.24h)] and the incidence of cutaneous reactions among HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis in Kenya. Cutaneous reactions due to thiacetazone occurred in 4/14 [28.6%] HIV+ve patients compared with 3/47 [6.4%] HIV-ve patients [RR = 4.48, 95% CI-1.1 to 17.7], and all resolved on alternative therapy. Among the HIV+ve patients, those with cutaneous reactions had higher AUC(0.24h) values, although the difference was not significant. These results do not exclude pharmacokinetic change as being at least partly responsible for cutaneous reactions to TCZ in HIV+ve patients, and do not refute an immunological basis for the reaction. With regard to the operational use of TCZ in Africa, there is no indication that a modification of the dose will reduce the frequency of drug reactions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Women and tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is the leading infectious cause of death in women worldwide. The disease poses a major threat to women's health security. Population growth, the HIV epidemic, increasing poverty and rising levels of drug resistance will inevitably increase the burden of this disease in women. Women are at increased risk of progression to disease during their reproductive years. However, in most low-income countries, twice as many men are notified with tuberculosis as women. Biological mechanisms may account for most of this difference but socioeconomic and cultural factors leading to barriers in accessing health care may cause under-notification in women. Tuberculosis control programmes should be sensitive to the constraints faced by women in accessing health care, in order to empower women to commence and complete treatment. The fear and stigma associated with tuberculosis have a greater impact on women than on men, often leaving them in a more precarious social and economic position. Tuberculosis in women creates orphans, impoverished families and reduces the economic development of society. Tuberculosis is a major cause of preventable suffering and death in women. WHO's recommended tuberculosis control strategy, DOTS, represents a cost-effective response to the problem of tuberculosis in women. Tuberculosis is a major women's health issue. It is a global health priority that tuberculosis treatment be made available to women, particularly to those in low-income countries who are bearing the brunt of this epidemic.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1994

Surveillance of resistance to antituberculosis drugs in developing countries.

Resistance to antituberculosis drugs is caused by poor management of tuberculosis control. It gives rise to treatment failure, relapse, further transmission of resistant tuberculosis, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Widespread occurrence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis would constitute a major threat to tuberculosis control in resource-poor countries. Although the impact of HIV on drug resistance is not yet fully understood, it is likely to exacerbate problems caused by drug resistance. In particular, HIV-related adverse effects of thiacetazone, together with the risks of transmission of HIV by parenteral administration of streptomycin, reduce the armamentarium available to tuberculosis control programmes in high HIV prevalence countries, and could encourage the development of resistance to the remaining drugs. While the prime need is to ensure, by good management and supervision, that resistance does not occur in the first place, surveillance of drug resistance is essential to determine the current scale and nature of the drug resistance problem, as well as to define the correct solutions.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1994

Recurrence of HIV-related tuberculosis in an endemic area may be due to relapse or reinfection.

SETTING: Two Research Clinics within Nairobi, Kenya, one in the Infectious Diseases Hospital, the national referral centre for tuberculosis, and one in a community based project in Pumwani district, and the Bacterial Molecular Genetics Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether recurrence of tuberculosis after 'adequate' treatment was due to reinfection with a different isolate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis or to relapse of the original infection. DESIGN: A retrospective comparison by DNA fingerprinting of sets of isolates of M. tuberculosis from patients with recurrence of tuberculosis and in whom isolates from the original episode had been stored was made. Five patients with recurrence of tuberculosis two to nineteen months after adequate treatment and documented clearance of disease were studied. RESULTS: In one patient, fingerprints of the isolates of M. tuberculosis from the recurrence were quite different to those from the original episode; in the other four, the fingerprints were identical. CONCLUSION: Reinfection rather than relapse was the cause of recurrence in at least one patient. The high 'relapse' rates seen in HIV-related tuberculosis in Africa may in part be due to increased susceptibility to reinfection and not to treatment failure.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1994

The effect of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 on the infectiousness of tuberculosis.

SETTING: Developing country tertiary referral hospital plus catchment community. OBJECTIVE: To determine the infectiousness of culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis in patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV-1). DESIGN: Comparison of the incidence of tuberculosis and the prevalence of tuberculin skin test positivity among the household contacts of both HIV-1 positive and negative cases with pulmonary tuberculosis. RESULTS: Of 255 contacts of HIV-1 negative index cases, 2 were HIV-1 positive and of 102 contacts of HIV-1 positive index cases, 14 were HIV-1 positive (odds ratio (OR) = 20.0 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 4.4-193). 21 cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed among contacts, of whom 3 were HIV-1 positive. The overall unadjusted OR for tuberculosis among contacts of HIV-1 positive index cases was 1.6 (95% CI 0.6-4.3) compared to contacts of HIV-1 negative index cases. Amongst HIV-1 negative contacts alone the OR was 1.5 (95% CI 0.4-4.4). In this group the best predictors of tuberculosis among contacts were female sex of the index case (OR = 3.4 95% CI 1.1-12), sharing the same bed as the index case (OR = 2.6 95% CI 0.9-7.4), and contact's age less than 5 years (OR = 3.3 95% CI 1.1-9.5). HIV-1 positive contacts were more likely to develop tuberculosis than HIV-1 negative contacts (OR = 4.1 95% CI 0.7-17). Tuberculin skin test positivity rates were the same among the HIV-1 negative contacts of HIV-1 positive and negative index cases (OR = 1.1 CI 0.7-1.6). CONCLUSIONS: HIV-1 associated pulmonary tuberculosis is not more infectious than tuberculosis alone. The presence of HIV-1 in a community does not mandate a change in the management of contacts of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1993

Increased recurrence of tuberculosis in HIV-1-infected patients in Kenya.

There is evidence that in human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected patients with tuberculosis the rate of recurrence of tuberculosis is increased in those patients treated with a standard thiacetazone-containing regimen. To assess the impact of HIV-1 on tuberculosis in Kenya, patients with tuberculosis were studied prospectively. After treatment with either a standard thiacetazone plus isoniazid regimen or a short-course thiacetazone-containing regimen, overall recurrence rate of tuberculosis was 34 times greater in 58 HIV-1-positive patients than in 138 HIV-1-negative patients (adjusted rate ratio 33.8, 95% CI 4.3-264). Recurrence in the HIV-1-positive group was strongly associated with a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction due to thiacetazone during initial treatment (rate ratio 13.2, 95% CI 3.1-56.2). In all patients with a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction ethambutol was substituted for thiacetazone. No significant association was found between recurrence among HIV-1-positive patients and initial resistance, initial treatment regimen, a diagnosis of AIDS (WHO definition), or poor compliance. DNA fingerprinting suggested that both relapse and new infection may have produced recurrence of tuberculosis. In patients who had a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction, increased recurrence rate may have been related to interruption of treatment, subsequent poor compliance, or more advanced immunosuppression. Alternatively, a change to the combination of ethambutol and isoniazid in the continuation phase for 11 months only may not be adequate.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1993

The impact of HIV on resource utilization by patients with tuberculosis in a tertiary referral hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.

By using routinely collected data and results from research studies at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Nairobi, we have begun to determine the scale of the increase in resource utilisation and treatment costs for tuberculosis control services caused by the HIV epidemic. New cases of tuberculosis registered annually at the IDH rose 61%, from 447 in 1985 to 720 in 1990. HIV seroprevalence among patients with tuberculosis rose from 7.5% in 1986 to 42% in 1990. The inpatient mortality rate rose from 8.4% in 1985 to 16.8% in 1989, but fell to 13.5% in 1990. HIV-positive patients were admitted to hospital on 2 or more occasions more often than HIV-negative patients (Relative risk (RR) = 2.46, 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.1-5.7), but average duration of admission was similar for the 2 groups. Significantly more HIV-positive patients were prescribed antibiotics, antifungal agents, antidiarrhoeal agents, analgesics and corticosteroids than HIV-negative patients. Microbiological investigations, apart from those for tuberculosis, were performed more commonly among HIV-positive patients (RR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.0-4.2). Using this data, the average cost of ideal drug therapy, including antituberculosis drugs and treatment for intercurrent infections and other complications, was estimated using 1992 prices (ECHO, Coulsdon Surrey, UK). The costs were US$16.62 and US$32.94 for HIV-negative patients using 'standard' therapy (2STH/10TH) and short course therapy (2SHRZ/6TH) respectively, and US$41.18 for HIV-positive patients using a short-course regimen without thiacetazone (2EHRZ/6EH). The HIV epidemic is causing both an increase in the numbers of patients requiring treatment and an increase in the average cost of treatment per patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1992

Cross-sectional survey of HIV infection among patients with tuberculosis in Nairobi, Kenya.

Evidence from many countries suggests an association of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and tuberculosis of major public health significance. In order to begin assessing the impact of HIV on tuberculosis in Kenya, we have determined the HIV-1 seroprevalence among tuberculosis patients and compared the clinical characteristics of tuberculosis in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients in two cross-sectional studies at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) and the Ngaira Avenue Chest Clinic (NACC), Nairobi, Kenya. The diagnosis in 92% of all patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was confirmed by culture. The remainder were diagnosed on histological, clinical or radiological grounds. HIV seroprevalence among tuberculosis patients at IDH was 26.5% (52/196) compared to 9.2% (18/195) at NACC (P less than 0.001). There was no association between numbers of streptomycin injections in the previous 5 years and HIV infection. Positive sputum smear rates in HIV-positive patients were slightly lower than in HIV-negative patients at both study sites (71% vs 83% at IDH and 73% vs 82% at NACC) but the difference was not significant. Only Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated. Miliary disease was not associated with HIV infection. Persistent diarrhoea, oral candidiasis, generalized itchy rash, herpes zoster and generalized lymphadenopathy were all associated with HIV infection, but 46% (95% CI:38-54%) of all HIV-positive patients had none of the clinical features listed in the WHO Clinical Criteria for the Diagnosis of AIDS, apart from fever, cough and weight loss. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome was reported in 7/52 (13%) patients with HIV infection, and in 4/144 (3%) patients without (RR 4.85, 95% CI: 1.45-15.88).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Cohort study of HIV-positive and HIV-negative tuberculosis, Nairobi, Kenya: comparison of bacteriological results.

We have set up a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive and negative patients with tuberculosis in order to address the problems associated with HIV-related tuberculosis. We present here the results of sputum smear microscopy, culture, mycobacterial identification tests and drug susceptibility assays from specimens taken at presentation. In this selected population of largely pulmonary tuberculosis cases, HIV infection is not associated with significant differences in sputum smear positivity rate, culture positivity rate or initial drug resistance. No atypical mycobacteria were found. Direct sputum smear examination remains specific for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in Kenya in spite of the presence of HIV. HIV infection was not associated with an increase in the proportion of pulmonary cases still culture-positive at 6 months. However a significant increase in the proportion of cases still culture-positive at 6 months was seen in those with initially resistant strains and also in those treated with standard regimen (streptomycin, thiacetazone and isoniazid for 1 month followed by thiacetazone and isoniazid for 11 months, 1STH/11TH) rather than a short-course, rifampicin-containing regimen (rifampicin, pyrazinamide and isoniazid for 2 months, together with streptomycin for the first month and followed by 6 months of thiacetazone and isoniazid, SHRZ/6TH).

Cohort Studies↗