Influence of COVID-19 on the notification of drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis cases.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the process of diagnosis and monitoring of drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) cases reported in the state of Paraná, Brazil, from 2015 to 2020. METHODS: Ecological study with quantitative approach. This study was based on diagnosed cases of pulmonary TB reported in the Notifiable Disease Information System in residents of Paraná; as well as through the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state epidemiological bulletin for the year 2020. The study data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: It was found that, although the number of reported pulmonary TB cases (drug-resistant and general) increased between 2015 and 2019, there was a drop in notification in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The notification of TB cases was also influenced monthly during the year according to the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. For cases of drug-resistant pulmonary TB, the provision of diagnostic tests and Directly Observed Treatment decreased by more than half in 2020, especially when compared to 2019. CONCLUSIONS: In view of these findings, the influence of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and monitoring of drug-resistant and general pulmonary TB cases is evident, showing that the pandemic has compromised the advances of recent decades in achieving the goals established for its eradication by 2035.

Polymorphisms in TLR4 and TNFA and Risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and Development of Active Disease in Contacts of Tuberculosis Cases in Brazil: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The role of genetic polymorphisms in latent tuberculosis (TB) infection and progression to active TB is not fully understood. METHODS: We tested the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs5743708 (TLR2), rs4986791 (TLR4), rs361525 (TNFA), rs2430561 (IFNG) rs1143627 (IL1B) as risk factors for tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion or development of active TB in contacts of active TB cases. Contacts of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB cases were initially screened for longitudinal evaluation up to 24 months, with clinical examination and serial TST, between 1998 and 2004 at a referral center in Brazil. Data and biospecimens were collected from 526 individuals who were contacts of 177 active TB index cases. TST conversion was defined as induration ≥5 mm after a negative TST result (0 mm) at baseline or month 4 visit. Independent associations were tested using logistic regression models. RESULTS: Among the 526 contacts, 60 had TST conversion and 44 developed active TB during follow-up. Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that male sex (odds ratio [OR]: 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-4.6), as well as SNPs in TLR4 genes (OR: 62.8, 95% CI: 7.5-525.3) and TNFA (OR: 4.2, 95% CI: 1.9-9.5) were independently associated with TST conversion. Moreover, a positive TST at baseline (OR: 4.7, 95% CI: 2.3-9.7) and SNPs in TLR4 (OR: 6.5, 95% CI: 1.1-36.7) and TNFA (OR: 12.4, 95% CI:5.1-30.1) were independently associated with incident TB. CONCLUSIONS: SNPs in TLR4 and TNFA predicted both TST conversion and active TB among contacts of TB cases in Brazil.

Towards a Clinical Trial Protocol to Evaluate Health Information Systems: Evaluation of a Computerized System for Monitoring Tuberculosis from a Patient Perspective in Brazil.

Assessment of health information systems consider different aspects of the system itself. They focus or on the professional who will use the software or on its usability or on the software engineering metrics or on financial and managerial issues. The existent approaches are very resources consuming, disconnected, and not standardized. As the software becomes more critical in the health organizations and in patients, becoming used as a medical device or a medicine, there is an urgency to identify tools and methods that can be applied in the development process. The present work is one of the steps of a broader study to identify standardized protocols to evaluate the health information systems as medicines and medical devices are evaluated by clinical trials. The goal of the present work was to evaluate the effect of the introduction of an information system for monitoring tuberculosis treatment (SISTB) in a Brazilian municipality from the patients' perspective. The Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems were answered by the patients before and after the SISTB introduction, for comparison. Patients from an outpatient clinic, formed the control group, that is, at this site was not implanted the SISTB. Descriptive statistics and mixed effects model were used for data analysis. Eighty-eight interviews were conducted in the study. The questionnaire's results presented better averages after the system introduction but were not considered statistically significant. Therefore, it was not possible to associate system implantation with improved patient satisfaction. The HIS evaluation need be complete, the technical and managerial evaluation, the safety, the impact on the professionals and direct and/or indirect impact on patients are important. Developing the right tools and methods that can evaluate the software in its entirety, from the beginning of the development cycle with a normalized scale, are needed.

[The distribution of tuberculosis in Porto Alegre: analysis of the magnitude and tuberculosis-HIV coinfection]. / Distribuição da tuberculose em porto alegre: análise da magnitude e coinfecção tuberculose-HIV.

OBJECTIVE: Analyzing the geographical distribution of the tuberculosis (TB), its incidence and prevalence and TB-HIV coinfection in the districts of Porto Alegre from 2007 to 2011. METHOD: An ecological, descriptive study of time series that used descriptive and geoprocessing techniques. RESULTS: In total, were recorded 3,369 incident cases and 3,998 prevalent cases of pulmonary TB. In both contexts, there was predominance of cases in males and in Caucasians. Seventeen districts showed prevalence rates above 79.2 cases/100,000 inhabitants, considering that 15 of them had incidence rates above 73.7 cases/100,000 inhabitants. The TB-HIV coinfection rates reached 67% in some districts, which is above the city average value (30%). CONCLUSION: The distribution analysis showed that the reformulation and restructuring of policies and health services in Porto Alegre are essential.


Operational indicators for pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis in people living with HIV before and after Xpert MTB/RIF implementation in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Tuberculosis (TB) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) is usually paucibacillary and the smear microscopy has limitations and may lead to high proportions of non-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (NC-PTB). Despite culture being the reference method, it usually takes 6 to 8 weeks to produce the results. This study aimed to analyze the effect of a rapid molecular test (Xpert) in the confirmatory rate of PTB among PLHIV, from 2010 to 2020, in São Paulo state, Brazil. This is an ecological study with time series analysis of the trend and the NC-PTB rates before and after Xpert implementation in 21 municipalities. The use of Xpert started and gradually increased after 2014, while the rate of NC-PTB in PLHIV decreased over this time, being more significant between late 2015 and mid-2017. The city of Ribeirão Preto stands out for having the highest percentage (75.0%) of Xpert testing among PLHIV and for showing two reductions in the NC-PTB rate. The cities with low Xpert coverage had a slower and smaller decrease in the NC-PTB rate. Despite being available since 2014, a significant proportion of PLHIV suspected of PTB in the state of São Paulo did not have an Xpert ordered by the doctors. The implementation of Xpert reduced the NC-PTB rates with growing effect as the coverage increased in the municipality.

Classification and regression tree (CART) model to predict pulmonary tuberculosis in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health issue worldwide. The lack of specific clinical symptoms to diagnose TB makes the correct decision to admit patients to respiratory isolation a difficult task for the clinician. Isolation of patients without the disease is common and increases health costs. Decision models for the diagnosis of TB in patients attending hospitals can increase the quality of care and decrease costs, without the risk of hospital transmission. We present a predictive model for predicting pulmonary TB in hospitalized patients in a high prevalence area in order to contribute to a more rational use of isolation rooms without increasing the risk of transmission. METHODS: Cross sectional study of patients admitted to CFFH from March 2003 to December 2004. A classification and regression tree (CART) model was generated and validated. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were used to evaluate the performance of model. Validation of the model was performed with a different sample of patients admitted to the same hospital from January to December 2005. RESULTS: We studied 290 patients admitted with clinical suspicion of TB. Diagnosis was confirmed in 26.5% of them. Pulmonary TB was present in 83.7% of the patients with TB (62.3% with positive sputum smear) and HIV/AIDS was present in 56.9% of patients. The validated CART model showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 60.00%, 76.16%, 33.33%, and 90.55%, respectively. The AUC was 79.70%. CONCLUSIONS: The CART model developed for these hospitalized patients with clinical suspicion of TB had fair to good predictive performance for pulmonary TB. The most important variable for prediction of TB diagnosis was chest radiograph results. Prospective validation is still necessary, but our model offer an alternative for decision making in whether to isolate patients with clinical suspicion of TB in tertiary health facilities in countries with limited resources.

[Delays in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in a town at the triple border of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina]. / Retardo no diagnóstico da tuberculose em município da tríplice fronteira Brasil, Paraguai e Argentina.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors linked to patients and health services in delays in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. METHODS: Epidemiological study in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil, 2009. The Primary Care Assessment Tool, adapted for appraising tuberculosis treatment, was the instrument used. Descriptive statistics techniques were used, such as frequency distributions, central tendency and dispersion measurements (median and interquartile intervals), and odds ratios. RESULTS: There were greater delays in seeking health services for those in the age group 60 years and older, for females, for patients with low levels of education, and for patients with poor knowledge of the disease. Clinical variables (being a new case and HIV infection) and behavioral variables (use of tobacco and alcohol consumption) were not linked with delays in diagnosis. The median time delays before diagnosis attributable to patients and to the health services were 30 days and 10 days, respectively. Emergency 24-hour medical services and primary health care services were not effective in identifying suspicious cases of tuberculosis and requesting tests to confirm the diagnosis, with a high percentage of referrals to the Tuberculosis Control Program clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Going to primary health care services for diagnosis increased the time before diagnosis of the disease was reached. The Tuberculosis Control Program clinic was more effective in diagnosis of tuberculosis, due to the training of the staff and to an organized process for receiving patients, including the availability of tests to support the diagnosis.

Health services performance for TB treatment in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Researches to evaluate Primary Health Care performance in TB control in Brazil show that different cities aggregate local specificities in the dynamics of coping with the disease. This study aims to evaluate health services' performance in TB treatment in cities across different Brazilian regions. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in five cities that are considered priorities for TB control in Brazil: Itaboraí (ITA), Ribeirão Preto (RP) and São José do Rio Preto (SJRP) in the Southeast; Campina Grande (CG) and Feira de Santana (FS) in the Northeast. Data were collected through interviews with 514 TB patients under treatment in 2007, using the Primary Care Assessment Tool adapted for TB care in Brazil. Indicators were constructed based on the mean response scores (Likert scale) and compared among the study sites. RESULTS: "Access to treatment" was evaluated as satisfactory in the Southeast and regular in the Northeast, which displayed poor results on 'home visits' and 'distance between treatment site and patient's house'. "Bond" was assessed as satisfactory in all cities, with a slightly better performance in RP and SJRP. "Range of services" was rated as regular, with better performance of southeastern cities. 'Health education', 'DOT' and 'food vouchers' were less offered in the Northeast. "Coordination" was evaluated as satisfactory in all cities. "Family focus" was evaluated as satisfactory in RP and SJRP, and regular in the others. 'Professional asking patient's family about other health problems' was evaluated as unsatisfactory, except in RP. CONCLUSIONS: Two types of obstacles are faced for health service performance in TB treatment in the cities under analysis, mainly in the Northeast. The first is structural and derives from difficulties to access health services and actions. The second is organizational and derives from the way health technologies and services are distributed and integrated. Incentives to improve care organization and management practices, aimed at the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary services, can contribute towards a better performance of health services in TB treatment.

[The front door of the Ribeirão Preto health system for diagnosing tuberculosis]. / A porta de entrada para o diagnóstico da tuberculose no sistema de saúde de Ribeirão Preto/SP.

The first contact of TB (tuberculosis) patients with the health system occurs at the front door and is essential to access to diagnosis. The objective of this study was to identify and analyze patients' first contact with the health system for TB diagnosis in Ribeirão Preto. The study was based on an instrument of the Primary Care Assessment Tool, adapted for TB care in Brazil. Structure interviews were conducted with 100 TB patients diagnosed between June 2006 and July 2007. Of all patients, 61% were referred to the diagnosis place and only 29% sought the service spontaneously; 66% sought for primary care services, and 34% for secondary and tertiary services. Public services diagnosed 89% of all cases, 44% of which were diagnosed in emergency services. A total 88% of patients were not from the area covered by the service. Although patients have sought for primary care services, close to their houses, the diagnosis occurred in secondary and tertiary health care.

[Financial challenges to access tuberculosis treatment in Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo]. / Barreiras econômicas na acessibilidade ao tratamento da tuberculose em Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo.

The objective of this study was to analyze the financial challenges that patients have to deal with to access the Tuberculosis (TB) Care Reference Centers in Ribeirão Preto. Adjustments were made to the Primary Care Assessment (PCAT) and an opinion poll was made with one-hundred patients following treatment and 16 health care professionals working at TB Reference Centers in Ribeirão Preto. Anova, Kruskall Wallis and chi-square tests were used. Most patients were males and most health care professionals were female. Differences were found between Centers C and A, in that Center C (p=0.028) offers a bus pass, and in A (p=0.010) patients paid for their own transportation. The indicator medical appointment in 24 hours showed a satisfactory level. There were disagreements between the reports from patients and health professionals as to the center offering the bus pass. Patients face challenges in their treatment, such as costs with transportation or being late for work, which result in losses in the family income.

Determinants of coinfection tuberculosis and HIV in prisons in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Prisons context has the potential for the spread of infectious diseases, like HIV and tuberculosis, which prevalence is higher in the people deprived of liberty compared to the general population. OBJECTIVE: to analyze which are the determinants of coinfection tuberculosis and HIV in prisons. METHODOLOGY: Case-control study conducted in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. New cases of tuberculosis in the population deprived of liberty in the period between 2015 and 2017 were considered. Data were obtained through the notification and monitoring system for tuberculosis cases in the state of São Paulo and included sociodemographic and clinical variables and diagnosis and treatment information. The data were analyzed through frequency distribution and bivariate analysis, testing the association of the dependent variable (tuberculosis/HIV coinfection vs. tuberculosis/HIV non-coinfection) with independent variables (sociodemographic, clinical and diagnostics variables) by calculating the odds ratio and p-value. RESULTS: Among the determinants of tuberculosis/HIV coinfection in prisons, we identified: age between 26-35, 36-55 and 56-84 years, notification in hospitals, negative sputum smear microscopy and culture, X-ray suggestive of another pathology, extrapulmonary and mixed clinical form, and alcoholism. A high percentage of death was also identified among coinfected people. CONCLUSIONS: identifying the determinants of the tuberculosis/HIV coinfected individual can assist in the development and implementation of guidelines aimed at controlling both infections in the prison environment.

Predictors of favorable results in pulmonary tuberculosis treatment (Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 2001-2004).

Based on data available in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases, predictive factors of favorable results were identified in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, diagnosed between 2001 and 2004 and living in Recife-PE, Brazil. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression methods were used. In multivariate analysis, the following factors remained: Age (years), 0 to 9 (OR = 4.27; p = 0.001) and 10 to 19 (OR = 1.78; p = 0.011), greater chance of cure than over 60; Education (years), 8 to 11 (OR = 1.52; p = 0.049), greater chance of cure than no education; Type of entry, ne wcase s (OR = 3.31; p < 0.001) and relapse (OR = 3.32; p < 0.001), greater chances of cure than restart after abandonment; Time (months) 2, 5--6 (OR = 9.15; p < 0.001); 6--9 (OR = 27.28; p < 0.001) and More than 9 (OR = 24.78; p < 0.001), greater chances of cure than less than 5; Health Unit District, DSII (OR = 1.60; p = 0.018) and DSIIV (OR = 2.87; p < 0.001), greater chance sof cure than DS II.

Factors associated to chronic kidney disease in people living with HIV/AIDS.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the factors associated to chronic kidney disease in people living with HIV (PLHIV). METHOD: a paired case-control study (4 controls for each case) carried out in a specialized care service in the Southeastern of Brazil, by analyzing PLHIV medical records. The sample consisted of 85 participants, corresponding to 17 cases and 68 controls. Pearson's chi-square test (Χ2) and Fisher's exact test, logistic regression, Odds Ratio (OR), 95% Confidence Interval (CI) and p<0.05 were used. SPSS version 25.0 and R Core Team, 2018 version 3.5.1 were used. RESULTS: the factors associated with chronic kidney disease identified in this study were the following: presence of Systemic Arterial Hypertension [OR=5.8, CI (95%)=1.84-18.42, p=0.001] and use of nephrotoxic anti-retrovirals in the previous therapeutic regimen [OR=3.3, CI (95%)=1.105-10.221, p=0.028]. On the other hand, age below 40 years old [OR: 0.122, CI (95%)=0.015-0.981, p=0.022] was identified as a protective factor. CONCLUSION: the PLHIV under study have multi-factorial exposure associated with chronic kidney disease. However, knowing these factors helps to identify the existing risks and/or renal dysfunction, in addition to supporting the clinical decision of the health professionals who directly assist them.

Development of CART model for prediction of tuberculosis treatment loss to follow up in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is the leading cause of infectious disease-related death, surpassing even the immunodeficiency virus. Treatment loss to follow up and irregular medication use contribute to persistent morbidity and mortality. This increases bacillus drug resistance and has a negative impact on disease control. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to develop a computational model that predicts the loss to follow up treatment in tuberculosis patients, thereby increasing treatment adherence and cure, reducing efforts regarding treatment relapses and decreasing disease spread. METHODS: This is a case-controlled study. Included in the data set were 103,846 tuberculosis cases from the state of São Paulo. They were collected using the TBWEB, an information system used as a tuberculosis treatment monitor, containing samples from 2006 to 2016. This set was later resampled into 6 segments with a 1-1 ratio. This ratio was used to avoid any bias during the model construction. RESULTS: The Classification and Regression Trees were used as the prediction model. Training and test sets accounted for 70% in the former and 30% in the latter of the tuberculosis cases. The model displayed an accuracy of 0.76, F-measure of 0.77, sensitivity of 0.80 and specificity of 0.71. The model emphasizes the relationship between several variables that had been identified in previous studies as related to patient cure or loss to follow up treatment in tuberculosis patients. CONCLUSION: It was possible to construct a predictive model for loss to follow up treatment in tuberculosis patients using Classification and Regression Trees. Although the fact that the ideal predictive ability was not achieved, it seems reasonable to propose the use of Classification and Regression Trees models to predict likelihood of treatment follow up to support healthcare professionals in minimising the loss to follow up.

Management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: main recommendations of the Brazilian guidelines.

Over the years, various recommendations have been made in pursuit of controlling resistance to antituberculosis drugs, especially multidrug resistance, in Brazil. Given the importance of standardizing those recommendations, the aim of this study was to describe the main recommendations of the Brazilian guidelines, primarily those related to the treatment and follow-up of cases of tuberculosis. From August through October of 2018, a document search was conducted via the websites of the Brazilian National Ministry of Health, the Brazilian National Tuberculosis Control Program, the JBP, and the Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Brazil. Data were collected systematically by using a protocol designed specifically for this study. Documents published between 2004 and 2018 were selected. It was possible to understand and trace the history of the measures for the control of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Brazil from 2004, when the first documents related to the disease were published, up to 2018, when the second edition of the Brazilian National Guidelines for the Control of Tuberculosis was published. The contents of the documents were analyzed and grouped by case definition, diagnostic criteria, treatment, use of directly observed treatment; mechanisms of social protection for patients; data tools; and organization of care. This analysis allowed us to understand the efforts towards standardizing some measures in Brazil, not only identifying advances in the alignment with international prerogatives (case definition, incorporation of diagnostic technology, and treatment regimens) but also underscoring the need for greater clarity regarding the mechanisms of social protection and the organization of the care provided via the Brazilian health care system.

Regional coordinators of Sao Paulo State prisons in tuberculosis and HIV coinfection care.

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the care provided to individuals with Tuberculosis (TB)-HIV coinfection in prison units in the state of São Paulo, according to the regional coordination of prisons. METHODS: cross-sectional study conducted between 2016 and 2018. A structured questionnaire was applied to 112 directors or health professionals from 168 prison units. Data were analyzed by frequency distribution and multiple correspondence analysis. RESULTS: 92.9% of participants reported active search for respiratory symptoms, 89.3% offer the directly observed treatment (DOT) for all TB cases, 95.5% anti-HIV testing for all inmates, 92.9% offer HIV follow-up in specialized care services and 59.8% antiretroviral drugs for cases of coinfection. An association was identified between the Northwest and Central regional coordinations and deficient human resources and low performance of actions for the diagnosis and follow-up of cases. CONCLUSIONS: although most prison units perform planned actions for the care of coinfected persons, some places need support to guarantee access to these actions.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of PCR for the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is one of the most prominent health problems in the world, causing 1.75 million deaths each year. Rapid clinical diagnosis is important in patients who have co-morbidities such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Direct microscopy has low sensitivity and culture takes 3 to 6 weeks 123. Therefore, new tools for TB diagnosis are necessary, especially in health settings with a high prevalence of HIV/TB co-infection. METHODS: In a public reference TB/HIV hospital in Brazil, we compared the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic strategies for diagnosis of pulmonary TB: Acid fast bacilli smear microscopy by Ziehl-Neelsen staining (AFB smear) plus culture and AFB smear plus colorimetric test (PCR dot-blot).From May 2003 to May 2004, sputum was collected consecutively from PTB suspects attending the Parthenon Reference Hospital. Sputum samples were examined by AFB smear, culture, and PCR dot-blot. The gold standard was a positive culture combined with the definition of clinical PTB. Cost analysis included health services and patient costs. RESULTS: The AFB smear plus PCR dot-blot require the lowest laboratory investment for equipment (US$ 20,000). The total screening costs are 3.8 times for AFB smear plus culture versus for AFB smear plus PCR dot blot costs (US$ 5,635,760 versus US$ 1,498, 660). Costs per correctly diagnosed case were US$ 50,773 and US$ 13,749 for AFB smear plus culture and AFB smear plus PCR dot-blot, respectively. AFB smear plus PCR dot-blot was more cost-effective than AFB smear plus culture, when the cost of treating all correctly diagnosed cases was considered. The cost of returning patients, which are not treated due to a negative result, to the health service, was higher in AFB smear plus culture than for AFB smear plus PCR dot-blot, US$ 374,778,045 and US$ 110,849,055, respectively. CONCLUSION: AFB smear associated with PCR dot-blot associated has the potential to be a cost-effective tool in the fight against PTB for patients attended in the TB/HIV reference hospital.

Health services in tuberculosis control: family focus and community orientation.

This study aimed to assess, according to patients' perception, the performance of the Health Services responsible for tuberculosis (TB) control, concerning the dimensions family focus and community orientation. A cross-sectional evaluative research was carried out with 108 TB patients. A questionnaire developed by Starfield and Macinko was used, adapted for TB care by Villa and Ruffino-Netto. Results evidence, in the first dimension, that health professionals (HP) are concerned with patients' signs and symptoms; and, at a lower level, with other health problems of relatives, endangering the comprehensive healthcare. In the second dimension, HP show little concern with the active search of cases, deficiency in HP training, and low rates of examined contacts. Results show the need to broaden HP's epidemiological view, as their attention is focused on patients, with few preventive actions concerning family/community. This evidences the need for a closer relationship among HP/patients/family/community.

Performance indicators of DOT at home for tuberculosis control in a large city, SP, Brazil.

The study had the objective to analyze the performance of the health services that implement the Directly Observed Therapy at home for tuberculosis control. This study analyzed four Tuberculosis Control Programs, referred to as A, B, C, and D, using the following indicators: Resource use; Performance quickness; Monitoring medication administration; Time spent per home visit. Data were collected during visits to 47 patients receiving DOT at home. Resource use was higher in program B (91.3%); program A showed quicker performance (5.8) and more visits during which medication administration was monitored (77.4%); program C had the longest time spent per home visit (14.7 minutes) and program A the shortest (10.4 minutes). The best or worst performance numerically expresses how resources are being used and whether the observation of medication intake is being achieved.

[Involvement of health primary care teams in the control of tuberculosis]. / Envolvimento de equipes da atenção básica à saúde no controle da tuberculose.

This study was aimed at analyzing the involvement of Health Primary Care teams in the tuberculosis control actions in the perception of the Tuberculosis Control Program coordinators of nine priority municipalities of the State of São Paulo. It is a qualitative research whose data were collected in June of 2005 through semistructured interviews with nine coordinators. The content thematic modality was used for the analysis of the data. The results pointed out to difficulties in the implementation of the tuberculosis control actions in primary care related to quantitative and qualitative deficiencies of human resources and to a centralized and fragmented view regarding the organization of these actions in the health system. The integration of tuberculosis control activities in primary care is possible provided the system is organized according to primary care principles and a policy of human resources that ensures continuous education and capacity-building of health teams is elaborated/implemented.