Tuberculosis control in the Caucasus: successes and constraints in DOTS implementation.

SETTING: The pilot projects for tuberculosis (TB) control, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and based on the WHO recommended control strategy, directly-observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) in the Caucasian countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results 2 years after the implementation of the pilot projects. METHODS: Analysis of data on case detection, sputum conversion and treatment outcome reported quarterly to the WHO from the Ministries of Health in each country. RESULTS: Since the establishment of the project, 1330, 764 and 4866 new cases and relapses, respectively, of TB have been detected in the pilot areas of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively 46% and 57% of all cases were smear positive, whilst in Georgia, the corresponding figure was only 12%. After 3 months' treatment, 93% of new smear-positive patients had become smear-negative. The sputum conversion rate for relapses and other retreatment cases (failure, treatment interrupted) was 85%. In Armenia, 78.1% of new smear-positive patients were treated successfully (cured or completed treatment). The corresponding percentages for Azerbaijan and Georgia were 87.9% and 59.6%. Treatment success rates among retreatment cases was generally low, at respectively 46%, 64%, and 35%, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. CONCLUSION: The results of the implementation of the WHO TB control pilot projects in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia suggest that the DOTS strategy is feasible in emergency situations in general, and in the Caucasus in particular.

Palliative and adjuvant chemotherapy of metastatic renal cancer.

Despite the prevalent scepticism regarding its value, chemotherapy for metastatic renal cell cancer was used in 45 patients, of whom 44 were nephrectomized, aged between 34 and 75 yr with a mean age of 57.3 yr. In 32 patients chemotherapy was used as palliative treatment because of the presence of their often multiple metastases or in 13 patients following surgical removal of metastases and/or histologically high-grade malignancy, as adjuvant treatment. Our treatment schedule consisted on day 1 of vinblastine 5 mg/m2 to a maximum of 10 mg provided intravenously in 1 or 2 to 3 week intervals X 6 and CCNU 130 mg/m2 orally each 6th week. This treatment schedule was supported by an intensive antiemetic regimen. Gastrointestinal side effects were well tolerated while 30% hematological depression necessitated extension of treatment intervals. The mean number of cycles was 2.5-3.7, respectively, with a maximum of 6. Palliative treatment resulted in 19% complete plus partial remission, 62% stabilization, and 19% progression, while adjuvant therapy proved to be superior with 10 of 13 patients in remission at 3-21 months, and 1 of 3 patients with metastatic recurrence in further remission for 20 months; two of three patients died. Palliative chemotherapy with CCNU-vinblastine acted successfully by blocking cancer progression, while adjuvant treatment together with surgical extirpation of metastases may have prolonged tumor-free remission.

Epidemic dysentery caused by Shigella dysenteriae type 1: a sentinel site surveillance of antimicrobial resistance patterns in Burundi.

Annual epidemics of bacillary dysentery have been a public health problem in Burundi for the last 14 years. Recent civil unrest, resulting in the displacement of large numbers of people into refugee settlements, has aggravated the situation. We report the results of a nationwide, health-centre based, sentinel site survey to check the drug resistance of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 (Sd1), the causal organism of such epidemics. Shigella spp. (of which 97% were Sd1) were isolated from 73% of the 126 specimens collected from six main sites around the country. There was no difference in culture results from fresh and frozen stool specimens. Overall Sd1 resistance to commonly available antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim, ampicillin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol) varied from 77% to 99% and was fairly uniformly distributed over the country. All Sd1 isolates were susceptible to newer drugs, such as ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone. Resistance to nalidixic acid, the current first line of treatment for bacillary dysentery in Burundi, varied from 8% to 83% in the different sentinel sites; global resistance was 57%.