Clinical standards for the assessment, management and rehabilitation of post-TB lung disease.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence suggests that post-TB lung disease (PTLD) causes significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of these clinical standards is to provide guidance on the assessment and management of PTLD and the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR).METHODS: A panel of global experts in the field of TB care and PR was identified; 62 participated in a Delphi process. A 5-point Likert scale was used to score the initial ideas for standards and after several rounds of revision the document was approved (with 100% agreement).RESULTS: Five clinical standards were defined: Standard 1, to assess patients at the end of TB treatment for PTLD (with adaptation for children and specific settings/situations); Standard 2, to identify patients with PTLD for PR; Standard 3, tailoring the PR programme to patient needs and the local setting; Standard 4, to evaluate the effectiveness of PR; and Standard 5, to conduct education and counselling. Standard 6 addresses public health aspects of PTLD and outcomes due to PR.CONCLUSION: This is the first consensus-based set of Clinical Standards for PTLD. Our aim is to improve patient care and quality of life by guiding clinicians, programme managers and public health officers in planning and implementing adequate measures to assess and manage PTLD.

Household context and psychosocial impact of childhood multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

SETTING: Referral hospital for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. OBJECTIVES: We conducted interviews with primary care givers of children admitted with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) during a 3-month period in 2015 to identify broader household challenges. RESULTS: We interviewed 26 care givers, most of whom were women (85%). Most households had been decimated by TB/MDR-TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and were dependent upon government grants. In 54% of cases, parents were absent due to illness or death, or their whereabouts were not known. The median age of the children treated for MDR-TB was 8 years (range 2-14); 72% were HIV-co-infected. Four themes emerged in the interviews: 1) the psychosocial impact of hospitalisation and separation on the child and the household, 2) the psychosocial impact of MDR-TB on children and 3) on care givers, and 4) the economic hardship of affected households. Children had to contend with multiple diseases and medications, and personal family losses; they faced behavioural, emotional and cognitive difficulties. Care givers were often anxious and concerned about the child's longer-term prospects, while the cost of hospital visits exacerbated the pre-existing economic vulnerability of affected households. CONCLUSION: The socio-economic impact of childhood MDR-TB reverberates beyond diseased children to their affected households. Enhanced social protection, psychosocial support and treatment literacy would create the foundations for family-centred care.

Disease spectrum and management of children admitted with acute respiratory infection in Viet Nam.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the acute respiratory infection (ARI) disease spectrum, duration of hospitalisation and outcome in children hospitalised with an ARI in Viet Nam. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of ARI admissions to primary (Hoa Vang District Hospital), secondary (Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children) and tertiary (National Hospital of Paediatrics in Ha Noi) level hospitals in Viet Nam over 12 months (01/09/2015 to 31/08/2016). RESULTS: Acute respiratory infections accounted for 27.9% (37 436/134 061) of all paediatric admissions; nearly half (47.6%) of all children admitted to Hoa Vang District Hospital. Most (64.6%) of children hospitalised with an ARI were <2 years of age. Influenza/pneumonia accounted for 69.4% of admissions; tuberculosis for only 0.3%. Overall 284 (0.8%) children died; most deaths (269/284; 94.7%) occurred at the tertiary referral hospital. The average duration of hospitalisation was 7.6 days (median 7 days). The average direct hospitalisation cost per ARI admission was 157.5 USD in Da Nang Provincial Hospital. In total, 62.6% of admissions were covered by health insurance. CONCLUSION: Acute respiratory infection is a major cause of paediatric hospitalisation in Viet Nam, characterised by prolonged hospitalisation for relatively mild disease. There is huge potential to reduce unnecessary hospital admission and cost.

Child pneumonia - focus on the Western Pacific Region.

Worldwide, pneumonia is the leading cause of death in infants and young children (aged <5 years). We provide an overview of the global pneumonia disease burden, as well as the aetiology and management practices in different parts of the world, with a specific focus on the WHO Western Pacific Region. In 2011, the Western Pacific region had an estimated 0.11 pneumonia episodes per child-year with 61,900 pneumonia-related deaths in children less than 5 years of age. The majority (>75%) of pneumonia deaths occurred in six countries; Cambodia, China, Laos, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Viet Nam. Historically Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were the commonest causes of severe pneumonia and pneumonia-related deaths in young children, but this is changing with the introduction of highly effective conjugate vaccines and socio-economic development. The relative contribution of viruses and atypical bacteria appear to be increasing and traditional case management approaches may require revision to accommodate increased uptake of conjugated vaccines in the Western Pacific region. Careful consideration should be given to risk reduction strategies, enhanced vaccination coverage, improved management of hypoxaemia and antibiotic stewardship.

Preventive therapy for latent tuberculosis infection-the promise and the challenges.

Around one third of the world's population may harbour latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), an asymptomatic immunological state that confers a heightened risk of subsequently developing tuberculosis (TB). Effectively treating LTBI will be essential if the End TB Strategy is to be realized. This review evaluates the evidence in relation to the effectiveness of preventive antibiotic therapy to treat LTBI due to both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant bacteria. Current national and international preventive therapy guidelines are summarized, as well as ongoing randomized trials evaluating regimens to prevent drug-resistant TB. Populations that may benefit most from screening and treatment for LTBI include close contacts of patients with TB (particularly children under 5 years of age) and individuals with substantial immunological impairment. The risks and benefits of treatment must be carefully balanced for each individual. Electronic decision support tools offer one way in which clinicians can help patients to make informed decisions. Modelling studies indicate that the expanded use of preventive therapy will be essential to achieving substantial reductions in the global TB burden. However, the widespread scale-up of screening and treatment will require careful consideration of cost-effectiveness, while ensuring the drivers of ongoing disease transmission are also addressed.

The use of light-emitting diode fluorescence to diagnose mycobacterial lymphadenitis in fine-needle aspirates from children.

BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is a simple, safe and effective method for investigating suspected mycobacterial lymphadenitis in children. Fluorescence microscopy can provide rapid mycobacterial confirmation. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provide a cheap and robust excitation light source, making fluorescence microscopy feasible in resource-limited settings. OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic performance of LED fluorescence microscopy on Papanicolaou (PAP) stained smears with the conventional mercury vapour lamp (MVL). METHODS: FNAB smears routinely collected from palpable lymph nodes in children with suspected mycobacterial disease were PAP-stained and evaluated by two independent microscopists using different excitatory light sources (MVL and LED). Mycobacterial culture results provided the reference standard. A manually rechargeable battery-powered LED power source was evaluated in a random subset. RESULTS: We evaluated 182 FNAB smears from 121 children (median age 31 months, interquartile range 10-67). Mycobacterial cultures were positive in 84 of 121 (69%) children. The mean sensitivity with LED (mains-powered), LED (rechargeable battery-powered) and MVL was respectively 48.2%, 50.0% and 51.8% (specificity 78.4%, 86.7% and 78.4%). Inter-observer variation was similar for LED and MVL (κ = 0.5). CONCLUSION: LED fluorescence microscopy provides a reliable alternative to conventional methods and has many favourable attributes that would facilitate improved, decentralised diagnostic services.

Fine needle aspiration biopsy: an undervalued diagnostic modality in paediatric mycobacterial disease.

Mycobacterial disease, and particularly tuberculosis (TB), is an escalating problem in developing countries, fuelled by the parallel human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. In TB endemic countries children carry a very high burden of disease, which may be unrecognised due to the difficulty in making a diagnosis based on clinical, radiological or laboratory methods. One of the main hurdles is the difficulty of obtaining adequate specimens for bacteriological confirmation of disease in children. TB lymphadenitis is the most common extra-pulmonary manifestation of TB, and up to 22% of children with persistent cervical lymphadenopathy and no local cause may have tuberculous adenitis. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), a simple and safe out-patient procedure that can be performed by nurses in resource-limited settings, and that provides material for direct microscopy as well as culture and susceptibility testing, provides an excellent opportunity to obtain bacteriological confirmation. However, it remains a greatly underutilised specimen collection modality. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the difficulties faced in the diagnosis of paediatric TB in resource-limited settings, and suggests ways to utilise FNAB as a practical modality for the rapid and effective diagnosis of mycobacterial disease in the significant subset of patients who present with peripheral lymphadenopathy. It also provides detail on how best to perform the technique, and suggests ways of making it more widely available in resource-limited settings, which carry the brunt of the paediatric TB disease burden.

A multidisciplinary method to map potential tuberculosis transmission 'hot spots' in high-burden communities.

BACKGROUND: Global control of the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic remains poor, especially in high-burden settings where ongoing transmission sustains the epidemic. In such settings, a significant amount of transmission takes place outside the household, and practical approaches to understanding transmission at community level are needed. OBJECTIVE: To identify and map potential TB transmission 'hot spots' across high-burden communities. SETTING AND DESIGN: Our method draws on data that qualitatively describe a high-burden community in Cape Town, South Africa. Established transmission principles are applied to grade the potential TB transmission risk posed by congregate settings in the community. Geographic information systems (GIS) technology then creates a visual map, locating potential transmission 'hot spots' in the community. RESULTS: Drinking places (shebeens), clinics and churches (often gatherings in confined homes) emerge as gathering places that potentially pose a high transmission risk, particularly if located in overcrowded and impoverished areas of the community. CONCLUSION: This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that combining qualitative techniques with GIS mapping may improve our understanding of potential TB transmission within a community and guide public health interventions to enhance TB control efforts.

The burden of childhood tuberculosis: a public health perspective.

The burden of childhood tuberculosis (TB) reflects recent transmission within a community and the level of TB control achieved within the adult (maintenance host) population. Children contribute little to the maintenance of the TB epidemic, but they may suffer severe TB-related morbidity and mortality. This review describes the main determinants of the burden of childhood TB within a particular community. Basic infectious disease principles identify the community, and not the individual, as the central entity that sustains an epidemic. The prevalence of TB is determined by the community's exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and their vulnerability to developing disease following exposure. The main variables that influence both exposure and vulnerability are discussed. Multiple variables are linked to poverty, and it is their cumulative effect, rather than the exact degree of poverty, that seems most important. Diligent contact tracing and the use of preventive chemotherapy will reduce the TB-related suffering of children. The burden of childhood TB, however, is a reflection of our ability to control the epidemic; this remains the ultimate challenge. Current efforts to control the TB epidemic aim to reduce transmission by treating sputum smear-positive adults, while very little emphasis is placed on reducing the vulnerability of high-burden communities. Successful control of the epidemic is the most effective way to reduce the burden of childhood TB, but this will require a holistic approach that acknowledges the importance of sustainable poverty alleviation.

The natural history of childhood intra-thoracic tuberculosis: a critical review of literature from the pre-chemotherapy era.

The pre-chemotherapy literature documented the natural history of tuberculosis in childhood. These disease descriptions remain invaluable for guiding public health policy and research, as the introduction of effective chemotherapy radically changed the history of disease. Specific high-risk groups were identified. Primary infection before 2 years of age frequently progressed to serious disease within the first 12 months without significant prior symptoms. Primary infection between 2 and 10 years of age rarely progressed to serious disease, and such progression was associated with significant clinical symptoms. In children aged >3 years the presence of symptoms represented a window of opportunity in which to establish a clinical diagnosis before serious disease progression. Primary infection after 10 years of age frequently progressed to adult-type disease. Early effective intervention in this group will reduce the burden of cavitating disease and associated disease transmission in the community. Although the pre-chemotherapy literature excluded the influence of human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection, recent disease descriptions in HIV-infected children indicate that immune-compromised children behave in a similar fashion to immune immature children (less than 2 years of age). An important concept deduced from the natural history of tuberculosis in childhood is that of relevant disease. Deciding which children to treat may be extremely difficult in high-prevalence, low-resource settings. The concept of relevant disease provides guidance for more effective public health intervention.