Rehabilitation, optimized nutritional care, and boosting host internal milieu to improve long-term treatment outcomes in tuberculosis patients.

BACKGROUND: The holistic management of tuberculosis (TB) patients can improve life expectancy and lost organ function. REHABILITATION: Chronic sequelae are very common among patients who survive TB, which can lead to a further decline in lung function. There is still no guidance for 'cured' patients with impaired lung function who need pulmonary rehabilitation. Additional tests for evaluation should be given after the end of treatment, as recent studies have shown the good effect of pulmonary rehabilitation for TB patients. OPTIMIZED NUTRITIONAL CARE: Malnutrition is very common among TB patients and is related to malabsorption. The latter can cause lower drug exposure, which may result in treatment failure, increasing the risk of death, and can lead to acquired drug resistance. Malnutrition should be assessed according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and the diagnosis should lead to an individualized treatment plan, including sufficient proteins and preferably in combination with adequate training. PROTECTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES: Under normal circumstances, most immune cells use a glucose-based mechanism to generate energy. Therefore the patient's nutritional status is a key factor in shaping immune responses. Disease-related malnutrition leads to proteolysis and lipolysis. In the end, the identification of individuals who will benefit from immune-modulatory strategies may lead to clinically relevant markers.

[Therapy and Rehabilitation of Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Different Treatment Adherence].

The pulmonary tuberculosis process as dependent on the disease form and the therapy efficacy with the use of Cycloferon in the treatment scheme were investigated. The study had two stages. At the first stage the data concerning 358 patients with primary pulmonary tuberculosis and infiltration (93 patients) or degradation (89 patients) and 176 patients with pulmonary fibrocavernous tuberculosis were analysed. At the second stage the efficacy of the treatment schemes applied to the patients with pulmonary fibrocavernous tuberculosis was compared. The etiotropic therapy intensive phase was applied to all the patients. Moreover, 56 patients (group 1) under the therapy and rehabilitatinon were treated with Cycloferon in a dose of 0.25 administered intramuscularly twice a week (not less than 16 injections for the course), 60 patients (group 2) were treated with Omega 3, 30 patients (group 3) were given the standard complex (vitamins and tonics), 30 patients (group 4) were under the etiotropic therapy alone. The following additional factors promoting progression and aggravation of the tuberculosis process were confirmed: degradation at the time of the disease diagnosis, high resistance of the pathogen to antituberculosis drugs, low adherence to the treatment, social desadaptation and especially psychofunctional state of the patients. The use of Cycloferon in the schemes of the intensive phase treatment of the primary fibrocavernous tuberculosis resulted in reduction of the intoxication signs, bacteria isolation, positive dynamics of the cavity healing, lower lung infiltration and consequently high frequency of the treatment positive outcomes (94.1 ± 3.33%).

Co-morbidity of infectious and addictive diseases in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, Russia.

The Russian health care system is organized around specific diseases, with relatively little focus on integration across specialties to address co-morbidities. This organizational structure presents new challenges in the context of the recent epidemics of injection drug use (IDU) and HIV. This paper uses existing and new data to examine the prevalence of reported new cases of drug dependence (heroin) and HIV over time as well as associations between drug dependence and alcoholism, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis in the City of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. We found a sharp rise in reported cases of IDU beginning in 1991 and continuing until 2002/2003, followed by a sharp rise in newly reported cases of HIV. These rises were followed by a drop in new cases of HIV and drug addiction in 2002/2003 and a drop in the proportion of HIV-positive individuals with IDU as a risk factor. Infection with hepatitis B and C were common, especially among injection drug users (38 and 85%, respectively), but also in alcoholics (7 and 14%). Tuberculosis was more common in alcoholics (53%) than in persons with alcoholism and drug dependence (10%), or with drug dependence alone (4%). Though these data have many limitations, they clearly demonstrate that drug dependence and/or alcoholism, HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis frequently co-occur in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Prevention and treatment services across medical specialties should be integrated to address the wide range of issues that are associated with these co-morbidities.

[Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae].

Pulmonary rehabilitation was evaluated for a mean period of 3.9 weeks in 37 inpatients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae. The rehabilitation program consisted of relaxation, breathing retraining, exercise training, respiratory muscle training and instruction. Significant improvement was shown in VC (n = 37) on average from 1.48 l to 1.59 l, in FEV1.0 (n = 37) from 0.93 l to 1.02 l, in PaO2 (n = 35) from 67.1 Torr to 72.4 Torr, in 6-minute walking distance (n = 29) from 303 m to 339 m, in Pimax (n = 17) from 38.5 cmH2O to 47.5 cmH2O, in activity (n = 23) from 19.6 points to 22.5 points, in dyspnea (n = 22) from 18.4 points to 22.5 points and in QOL (n = 25) from 39.0 points to 44.2 points. The effects of pulmonary rehabilitation did not depend on past thoracic surgery for tuberculosis, pattern of ventilatory impairment, findings of chest radiography, or degree of insufficiency. These data suggest that pulmonary rehabilitation is of benefit for improving pulmonary function, exercise tolerance, symptoms and QOL in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae.

[Functional recovery in pulmonary tuberculosis]. / Il recupero funzionale nella tubercolosi polmonare.

At first Authors explain the stages of tubercular disease in which a programme of functional respiratory rehabilitation can be advised. Then they deal with the main aspects of rehabilitating treatment in some tubercular manifestations, as sero-fibrinous pleural effusion, tubercular empyema, parenchymal fibrosis and surgical reliquates. With regard to surgical reliquates, we mostly consider pulmonary resections and pleural skinning. At last Authors recall the indications to physical exercise training, that are constituted by some reliquates of tubercular pathology, and they resume the accomplishment modalities of such a programme in order to allow every patient wide possibilities of social reintroduction.

A rehabilitation program for improving exercise tolerance of patients with chronic lung disease.

A Chronic Chest Disease Rehabilitation Program has been developed in the Toronto General Hospital to improve exercise tolerance in very disabled patients. The most important part of the program is physical conditioning using mainly a motor-driven treadmill. The treadmill exercise is done breathing room air or, in the case of the most disabled patients, an oxygen-enriched gas mixture. Other exercise includes riding a stationary bicycle, going up and down stairs, and turning a wheel by hand. Other aspects of the program are breathing exercises, inhalation therapy using an ultrasonic nebulizer, chest physiotherapy, and patient education. The importance of a team approach with encouragement, enthusiasm and demonstration of steady progress is emphasized.