Research of Russian physicians' opinions on tuberculosis pharmacogenetics.

BACKGROUND: There is currently no widespread implementation of pharmacogenetic testing (PGx) methods in the practice of phthisiology service. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine how informed and prepared phthisiologists, residents, and postgraduate students of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education (RMACPE, Moscow) use PGx techniques in their work to improve treatment safety, predict the occurrence of adverse reactions (ADRs), and personalize therapy. METHODS: A survey was conducted among phthisiologists (n = 314) living in different regions of the Russian Federation and studying at RMACPE, such as residents and post-graduate students (n = 185). The survey was developed on the Testograf.ru web platform and had 25 questions for physicians and 22 for residents and post-graduate students. RESULTS: More than 50% of respondents are ready to use PGx in clinical practice and thus are aware of the method's possibilities. At the same time only a small part of participants were aware of the pharmgkb.org resource. The absence of PGx in clinical guidelines and treatment standards, according to 50.95% of phthisiologists and 55.13% of students of RMACPE, the absence of large-scale randomized clinical trials, according to 37.26% of phthisiologists and 43.33% of students, and the lack of physician knowledge on PGx, according to 41.08% of phthisiologists and 57.83% of students, are all factors that prevent the implementation of PGx in Russia. CONCLUSION: According to the survey, the overwhelming majority of participants recognize the importance of PGx and are willing to use the method in practice. However, there is a low level of awareness among all respondents about the possibilities of PGx and the pharmgkb.org resource. The implementation of this service could significantly increase patient compliance, lower ADRs, and enhance anti-tuberculosis (TB) therapy quality.

Impact of socio-psychological factors on treatment adherence of TB patients in Russia.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of social and psychological factors on treatment adherence of patients with tuberculosis (TB). To this end a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among TB patients in four Russian regions (Orel, Vladimir, Belgorod oblasts, and Republic of Mari-El) from 01/04/2004 to 31/03/2005. A total of 87 non-adherent and 1302 adherent patients were interviewed. Compared to adherents, non-adherents were significantly more likely to be male, unemployed, have a technical college education, have a history of imprisonment, have a negative emotional status, consider themselves "not sick", not know the treatment period, have negative feelings and distrust for medical staff, not believe they will fully recover, and not want to continue treatment. Patients at highest risk for non-adherence should be identified at the start of treatment, and offered the services of a psychologist. A case management and patient-centered approach should be applied.

Social support and incentives programme for patients with tuberculosis: experience from the Russian Federation.

SETTING: Tuberculosis (TB) services including social support and incentive programmes in four Russian regions (Orel, Vladimir, Belgorod Oblasts and Republic of Mari-El). OBJECTIVES: To determine reasons for TB treatment default among non-adherent patients and to describe patient views of social support programmes and the organisation of treatment. METHODS: Standard anonymous questionnaires were administered to new pulmonary TB patients registered for treatment. RESULTS: A total of 87 non-adherent patients and 1302 adherent patients were interviewed. The leading reasons for treatment default given by non-adherent patients were the need to earn money (30%), alcohol use (30%) and not perceiving themselves as being sick (25%). Monetary incentives were preferred by the majority of patients (67%), followed by food/hot meals (41%) and transportation reimbursement (32%). Overall, among the proposed social support programmes, those that offered small daily incentives (23%) or a big final bonus (21%) were the most popular. The majority of patients (67%) preferred out-patient treatment. CONCLUSION: Collaboration between TB services and social organisations and substance abuse services as well as availability of psychological testing/counselling for patients are social support modalities for improving adherence suggested by study findings. Social support should be combined with a patient-centred approach to TB treatment.

Risk factors associated with default among new pulmonary TB patients and social support in six Russian regions.

SETTING: Tuberculosis (TB) services in six Russian regions in which social support programmes for TB patients were implemented. OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for default and to evaluate possible impact of social support. METHODS: Retrospective study of new pulmonary smear-positive and smear-negative TB patients registered during the second and third quarters of the 2003. Data were analysed in a case-control study including default patients as cases and successfully treated patients as controls, using multivariate logistic regression modelling. RESULTS: A total of 1805 cases of pulmonary TB were enrolled. Default rates in the regions were 2.3-6.3%. On multivariate analysis, risk factors independently associated with default outcome included: unemployment (OR 4.44; 95%CI 2.23-8.86), alcohol abuse (OR 1.99; 95%CI 1.04-3.81), and homelessness (OR 3.49; 95%CI 1.25-9.77). Social support reduced the default outcome (OR 0.13; 95%CI 0.06-0.28), controlling for age, sex, region, residence and acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear of sputum. CONCLUSION: Unemployment, alcohol abuse and homelessness were associated with increased default outcome among new TB patients, while social support for TB patients reduced default. Further prospective randomised studies are necessary to evaluate the impact and to determine the most cost-effective social support for improving treatment outcomes of TB in patients in Russia, especially among populations at risk of default.