Hazardous Child Labour, Psychosocial Functioning, and School Dropouts among Children in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

Child labour is a common financial coping strategy in poor households, especially in low-and middle-income countries with many children working under hazardous conditions. Little is known about the linkages between hazardous work conditions and psycho-social and educational outcomes. We analysed the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (BMICS) round 6 to assess the association between the exposure variables, including child labour, hazardous child labour (HZCL) and hazardous work, and outcome variables, including psychosocial functioning difficulty and school dropout, in children aged 5 to 17 years. We conducted bivariable and multivariable analyses to examine the association. In the adjusted analyses, children engaged in HZCL had increased odds of psychosocial functioning difficulty (aOR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.16-1.72) and school dropout (aOR: 5.65; 95% CI: 4.83-6.61) among 5-14-year-olds compared to children who did not engage in child labour and hazardous work. Other independent factors associated with psychosocial functioning difficulty and school dropout included being male, living in a deprived neighbourhood, being exposed to violent punishment, the caregiver's attitude towards physical punishment, the mother's functional difficulty and lower maternal education. The linkages between hazardous work and psychosocial functioning difficulty appear more prominent among children not in school. Further, the evidence on the relationship between hazardous work and school dropout is stronger among children with psychosocial functioning difficulty. Policies and programmes that target the most hazardous forms of work are likely to have the greatest benefits for children's mental health, social well-being and educational attainment.

Child Domestic Work, Violence, and Health Outcomes: A Rapid Systematic Review.

This rapid systematic review describes violence and health outcomes among child domestic workers (CDWs) taken from 17 studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries. Our analysis estimated the median reported rates of violence in CDWs aged 5-17-year-olds to be 56.2% (emotional; range: 13-92%), 18.9% (physical; range: 1.7-71.4%), and 2.2% (sexual; range: 0-62%). Both boys and girls reported emotional abuse and sexual violence with emotional abuse being the most common. In Ethiopia and India, violence was associated with severe physical injuries and sexual insecurity among a third to half of CDWs. CDWs in India and Togo reported lower levels of psycho-social well-being than controls. In India, physical punishment was correlated with poor psycho-social well-being of CDWs [OR: 3.6; 95% CI: 3.2-4; p < 0.0001]. Across the studies, between 7% and 68% of CDWs reported work-related illness and injuries, and one third to half had received no medical treatment. On average, children worked between 9 and 15 h per day with no rest days. Findings highlight that many CDWs are exposed to abuse and other health hazards but that conditions vary substantially by context. Because of the often-hidden nature of child domestic work, future initiatives will need to be specifically designed to reach children in private households. Young workers will also benefit from strategies to change social norms around the value and vulnerability of children in domestic work and the long-term implications of harm during childhood.

An observational report of universal GeneXpert testing of inpatients with diagnosed or presumptive TB in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: The Philippines is a high TB and multidrug-resistant TB burden country. Although the scale-up of GeneXpert testing is occurring, the benefits of universal Xpert-Mycobacterium tuberculosis/ rifampicin (MTB/RIF) testing in inpatients have not been documented. METHODS: Routine GeneXpert testing irrespective of priority criteria for testing was conducted within a prospective cohort of all adults with known or presumptive TB admitted to a tertiary infectious diseases hospital in Manila. Study-specific TB diagnosis was decided upon bacteriological results, chest x-ray assessment, if already on anti-TB treatment (ATT) at admission and a cough duration of ≥2 wk. RESULTS: Of submitted sputum samples, 87.1% (277/318) had valid acid-fast bacilli (AFB) microscopy and Xpert® MTB/RIF results. Xpert® MTB/RIF was positive in 97.7% (n = 87/89) of AFB-positive patients and 25.5% (n = 48/188) of AFB-negative patients. Bacteriological confirmation in smear negative cases not on ATT prior to admission was 25.2% (34/135). Rifampicin resistance was detected in 26/135 Xpert positive cases (19.3%), including nine who might not otherwise have been detected, representing a 53% increase in yield. CONCLUSION: Universal GeneXpert testing in this setting enhanced the yield of bacterial confirmation, revealing a high incidence of rifampicin resistance and suggesting a need for further investigations in Xpert-negative/smear-positive patients who may not have mycobacterial TB.

Utilisation and Determinants of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Testing in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in Routine Clinical Practice: A Global Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation testing is recommended for selecting patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor drug treatment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article was to systematically review available evidence on the utilisation and determinants of EGFR mutation testing of patients with NSCLC in routine clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Searches were made of five electronic databases (Web of Science, MEDLINE [Ovid], Science Direct, EMBASE and Scopus), bibliographies of relevant articles, studies that cited included studies and relevant cancer websites. Studies were included if they: (1) reported the rate of uptake of EGFR testing in patients with NSCLC; (2) were conducted in routine clinical practice settings; (3) were published in English prior to July 2017; and (4) had full text available. Studies were appraised using the STROBE and the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) checklists. RESULTS: Eighteen eligible studies were identified for this systematic review, published between 2011 and 2017, from the USA (n = 7), Canada (n = 2), Republic of Korea (n = 2), Norway (n = 1), Sweden (n = 1), Germany (n = 1), Spain (n = 1), New Zealand (n = 1), China (n = 1) and multiple countries from the Asia-Pacific region (n = 1). Overall, testing for EGFR mutations was undertaken in 16,146 of 52,257 study patients (31%), although testing rates varied widely between different studies (from 7.8% to 78.3%). Single institution retrospective audits reported higher rates of testing (median 65.7%, range 31.3-78.3%) than population-based retrospective cohort analyses (median 23%, range 11-69%) and multi-institutional cross-sectional practitioner surveys (median 19.8%, range 7.8-31.8%). Nine studies reported increasing rates of testing over the study period but maximum testing rates remained less than 75% in most studies. Factors associated with higher testing uptake rates included: female sex; younger age; former/no smoking; advanced stage of lung cancer; adenocarcinoma histology; better mobility; radiation therapy; available tissue specimen; and private insurance. Among 16,146 tested patients, EGFR mutations were detected in 4328 patients (26.8%). However, estimates of mutation prevalence were biased by incomplete and selective testing in many studies. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of EGFR mutation testing of patients with NSCLC is suboptimal in many parts of the world. Incomplete uptake of testing is fuelled by selective testing referral practices, sample limitations, and funding constraints.

Outcomes of Community-Based Systematic Screening of Household Contacts of Patients with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Myanmar.

Screening of household contacts of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a crucial active TB case-finding intervention. Before 2016, this intervention had not been implemented in Myanmar, a country with a high MDR-TB burden. In 2016, a community-based screening of household contacts of MDR-TB patients using a systematic TB-screening algorithm (symptom screening and chest radiography followed by sputum smear microscopy and Xpert-MTB/RIF assays) was implemented in 33 townships in Myanmar. We assessed the implementation of this intervention, how well the screening algorithm was followed, and the yield of active TB. Data collected between April 2016 and March 2017 were analyzed using logistic and log-binomial regression. Of 620 household contacts of 210 MDR-TB patients enrolled for screening, 620 (100%) underwent TB symptom screening and 505 (81%) underwent chest radiography. Of 240 (39%) symptomatic household contacts, 71 (30%) were not further screened according to the algorithm. Children aged <15 years were less likely to follow the algorithm. Twenty-four contacts were diagnosed with active TB, including two rifampicin- resistant cases (yield of active TB = 3.9%, 95% CI: 2.3%-6.5%). The highest yield was found among children aged <5 years (10.0%, 95% CI: 3.6%-24.7%). Household contact screening should be strengthened, continued, and scaled up for all MDR-TB patients in Myanmar.

Incomplete uptake of EGFR mutation testing and its impact on estimation of mutation prevalence in patients with non-squamous NSCLC: A population-based study in New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutation testing is recommended for patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but not all eligible patients get tested, which may bias the mutation prevalence estimated. This study aims to examine trends in the uptake of EGFR mutation testing in patients with non-squamous NSCLC in New Zealand; to develop a composite metric that quantifies the influences of demographic and clinico-pathological factors on the testing uptake; and to estimate the prevalence of EGFR mutation if all patients were tested. METHODS: This population-based study involved all patients who were diagnosed with non-squamous NSCLC in four health regions in New Zealand between January 2010 and December 2015. Eligible patients were identified from the New Zealand Cancer Registry and information on EGFR mutation testing was obtained through linkage to TestSafe, a clinical information sharing service, and laboratory records. RESULTS: Of 2701 eligible patients, 1059 (39.2%) were tested for EGFR mutation. The testing prevalence increased (3.7% in 2010 to 64.6% in 2014) and the influences of demographic and clinic-pathological factors decreased from 2010 to June 2014, and remained stable afterward. Of the tested patients, 229 (21.6%) were mutation positive with a decreasing trend observed from 2010 (43.8%) to June 2014 (16.8%). The best-fit log-linear model estimated the prevalence of EGFR mutation, if all patients were tested, as 15.5% (95% CI: 13.2%-18.0%). CONCLUSION: The methods described here allowed a more accurate estimation of the prevalence of EGFR mutation.