Reasons for the low bacteriological coverage of tuberculosis reported in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

SETTING: Public sector hospitals and primary health clinics in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether failure to adhere to tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic guidelines (i.e., submit sputum for smear microscopy) contributed to the low bacteriological coverage reported for TB in 2008 in Mpumalanga Province. METHODS: We reviewed clinical records for new pulmonary TB cases at 30 of 118 randomly selected facilities that met the bacteriological coverage target of 80% and 30/87 facilities that did not. Data for hospital and clinic cases were abstracted into case report forms, captured electronically and compared with data from the electronic TB register (ETR). We assessed age, sex, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and facility type as potential confounders for recording of smear microscopy results. RESULTS: Age, sex and HIV infection did not influence recording of results. In hospitals, 61.8% of pulmonary TB cases had sputum smear results in their clinical records compared to 93.6% at clinics (P < 0.001). Of the 711 cases (30.3%) that did not have smear results in the ETR, 342 (48.1%) did have smear results in their clinical records. CONCLUSION: Both poor clinical practice (especially in hospitals) and poor record keeping have contributed to the low bacteriological coverage reported. These shortcomings need to be addressed to improve patient care and programme management.

Contexte : Hôpitaux publics et centres de santé primaire de la province de Mpumalanga en Afrique du Sud.Objectif : Déterminer si le défaut de respecter les directives de diagnostic de la tuberculose (TB) (c'est-à-dire soumettre des crachats à la microscopie de frottis) a contribué à la faible couverture bactériologique rapportée en 2008.Méthodes : Nous avons revu les dossiers cliniques des nouveaux cas de TB pulmonaire dans 30 de 118 structures sélectionnées au hasard qui ont atteint la couverture bacteriologique visée de 80% et 30 de 87 structures qui ne l'ont pas atteinte. Les données des cas suivis dans les hôpitaux et les dispensaires ont été résumées sur des formulaires, saisies en informatique et comparées aux données du registre électronique de la TB (ETR). Nous avons évalué l'âge, le sexe, l'infection au virus de l'immunodéficience humaine (VIH) et le type de structure en tant que facteurs de confusion de l'enregistrement des frottis.Résultats : L'âge, le sexe et l'infection VIH n'ont pas influencé l'enregistrement des frottis. Dans les hôpitaux, 61,8% des cas de TB pulmonaire ont eu des résultats de frottis de crachats dans leurs dossiers cliniques comparés à 93,6% dans les dispensaires (P < 0,001). Sur les 711 cas (30,3%) qui n'avaient pas de résultats de frottis dans le ETR, 342 (48,1%) avaient des résultats de frottis dans leurs dossiers cliniques.Conclusion : La faible couverture bactériologique constatée est due à la fois à des pratiques cliniques médiocres (surtout dans les hôpitaux) et à une maintenance insuffisante des dossiers. Ces deux problèmes doivent être résolus afin d'améliorer la prise en charge des patients et la gestion du programme.

Marco de referencia: Los hospitales y los centros de atención primaria del sector público de salud de la provincia de Mpumalanga en Suráfrica.Objetivo: Determinar si la falta de cumplimiento de las normas diagnósticas de la tuberculosis (TB) (por ejemplo, la presentación de muestras de esputo para baciloscopia) contribuye a la baja cobertura bacteriológica notificada en el 2008.Métodos: Se analizaron las historias clínicas de los casos nuevos de TB pulmonar en 30 de los 118 establecimientos escogidos de manera aleatoria que cumplían con la meta de cobertura bacteriológica del 80% de los casos y en 30 de los 87 centros que no cumplían con esta meta. Los datos de los casos de los hospitales y los consultorios se consignaron en formularios de notificación, se captaron en un registro informático y se compararon con los datos del registro electrónico de la TB (ETR). Se evaluaron la edad, el sexo, la infección por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) y el tipo de establecimiento como posible factores de confusión del registro de la baciloscopia.Resultados: La edad, el sexo y la infección por el VIH no ejercieron ninguna influencia sobre el registro de la baciloscopia. En los hospitales, el 61,8% de los casos de TB pulmonar contaba con resultados de la baciloscopia del esputo en la historia clínica, en comparación con el 93,6% de los casos en los consultorios (P < 0,001). De los 711 casos que carecían de resultados de baciloscopia en el ETR (30,3%), 342 contaban con esta información en los expedientes clínicos (48,1%).Conclusión: Se observaron prácticas clínicas inadecuadas (sobre todo en los hospitales) y deficiencias en los registros, que contribuyeron a la baja cobertura bacteriológica notificada. Es importante remediar estas insuficiencias con el fin de mejorar la atención que se presta a los pacientes y optimizar la gestión del programa contra la TB.

Therapeutic efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the therapeutic efficacy of sulfadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) after 5 years of use as first-line treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and thus guide the selection of artemisinin-based combination therapy in Mpumalanga, South Africa. DESIGN: An open-label, in vivo therapeutic efficacy study of patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria treated with a single oral dose of SP, with response to treatment monitored clinically and parasitologically on days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42. SETTING: Mangweni and Naas public health care clinics, Tonga district in rural Mpumalanga. SUBJECTS, OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: Of 152 patients recruited sequentially, 149 (98%) were successfully followed up for 42 days. One hundred and thirty-four patients (90%) demonstrated adequate clinical and parasitological response. Of the 15 patients (10%) who failed treatment, 2 (1.3%) had an early treatment failure, and polymerase chain reaction confirmed recrudescent infection in all 13 patients (8.7%) who had late parasitological (N = 11) or clinical (N = 2) failure. Gametocyte carriage was prevalent following SP treatment (84/152) and this has increased significantly since implementation in 1998 (relative risk 2.77 (confidence interval 1.65 - 4.66); p = 0.00004). CONCLUSION: Asexual P. falciparum parasites in Mpumalanga remain sensitive to SP, with no significant difference between the baseline cure rate (94.5%) at introduction in 1998, and the present 90% cure rate (p = 0.14). However, since gametocyte carriage has increased significantly we recommend that SP be combined with artesunate in Mpumalanga to reduce gametocyte carriage and thus decrease malaria transmission and potentially delay antimalarial resistance.

Infectivity of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes to Anopheles arabiensis after treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine.

Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine induces increased gametocytaemia when used for treating Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Laboratory-reared Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes were fed with blood from patients with post-therapeutic gametocytaemia using a membrane feeder. Fourteen days later the heads and thoraxes of 613 mosquitoes were negative for P. falciparum sporozoites by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Effectiveness of short-course quinine and single-dose sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Quinine therapy for 7 days remains the mainstay for treating hospitalised malaria cases in South Africa. However, limited resources, including available beds and staff, often result in early discharge of non-severe cases, with quinine tablets for outpatient use. The effectiveness of shorter course quinine therapy coupled with a long-acting antimalarial drug has never been established in Africa, in particular in a population without malaria immunity. METHODS: A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a 3-day course of therapy with quinine sulphate (10 mg/kg 8-hourly) followed by a single dose of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) according to weight category, before discharge, for 133 hospitalised patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria at Shongwe Hospital, Mpumalanga province, between February and July 1998. Study endpoints included clinical recovery and parasitological cure, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 42 days after initiating treatment. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty of 131 patients (99%) successfully followed up for 42 days demonstrated clinical and parasitological cure. The remaining patient, who had evidence of a recrudescent infection on PCR, was 1 of 61 patients who were still parasitaemic on discharge from hospital. CONCLUSION: The abbreviated course of quinine therapy coupled with a single dose of SP for the treatment of non-severe hospitalised cases of P. falciparum malaria, in an area with demonstrated low levels of SP resistance, was highly effective. This approach has potential benefits, including reduced duration of hospitalisation, fewer quinine-associated adverse events and protection against the evolution of quinine resistance by limiting unsupervised quinine therapy in the community. It may, however, be prudent to document a negative blood film before discharge from hospital.

Therapeutic efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria 3 years after introduction in Mpumalanga.

OBJECTIVES: To assess therapeutic efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria 3 years after introduction in Mpumalanga, South Africa. SETTING: Tonga district with a population of 116,418 and subject to seasonal malaria, with an average annual incidence of 3,200 cases. SUBJECTS: One hundred and nineteen malaria patients presenting to a sentinel surveillance clinic and recruited according to World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria. METHODOLOGY: Patients satisfying WHO inclusion criteria were treated with a single oral dose of SP and the response of infection to treatment in each patient was routinely monitored clinically and parasitologically on days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42 post-treatment. One hundred and ten patients completed follow-up to day 42 or evidence of clinical or parasitological failure. RESULTS: The cure rate at day 42 was 93.6% (103/110). Two patients (1.8%, RII) were early treatment failures on day 3, while recrudescence (4.5%, RI) occurred in 5 patients on day 28 (N = 3) and on day 42 (N = 2). CONCLUSION: In Mpumalanga P. falciparum remains sensitive to SP, with no significant difference between the baseline cure rate (94.5%) and the cure rate in the present study (93.6%).