Risk Stratification and Factors Associated with Abandonment of Tuberculosis Treatment in a Secondary Referral Unit.

PURPOSE: To study the factors associated with the risk of discontinuing active tuberculosis treatment among patients in an outpatient referral unit and to analyze the association between patients' abandonment risk score and their odds of discontinuing the treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this cohort study, tuberculosis patients were prospectively followed up from June 2012 through July 2019 at a secondary tuberculosis referral unit in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. At initial consultation, patients were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire and were assigned a score for the risk of treatment abandonment by the nurse. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-eight patients were included in the study, of which 65.0% (96/148) were male. Their mean age was 43.3 ± 14.8 years (range: 18-89 years). Smoking, drug use, repeated admissions, and a high abandonment risk score were the variables associated with the highest risk of discontinuing the treatment. The rate of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus coinfection was 37.2%. The overall rate of global treatment abandonment was 10.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.1-16.2). Upon stratification of patients that abandoned by the risk score, 22.9% (8/35) of the ones that abandoned had a high risk, 10.9% (6/55) had an intermediate risk, and 3.5% (2/58) had a low risk of treatment abandonment. In multivariate analysis, the factors associated with abandoning the treatment were smoking [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 4.91 (95% CI: 1.08, 22.32)] and undergoing retreatment (aOR) = 3.66 (95% CI: 1.04, 12 88). CONCLUSION: Smoking and undergoing retreatment were independent risk factors for tuberculosis treatment abandonment in this center. Risk stratification can help prioritize the strengthening of treatment adherence among patients at higher risk of abandoning treatment in referral units.

Clinical and epidemiological profile of children and adolescents submitted to the hematopoietic cell transplantation / Perfil clínico e epidemiológico de crianças e adolescentes submetidos ao transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas

The Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is used in children as a definitive treatment for various oncological, immune deficiencies, hemoglobinopathy, and malignancies diseases that involve the hematological system, congenital metabolism disorders, among others. To characterize the clinical and epidemiological profile of children and adolescents submitted to HSCT at a referral service in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. This is a quantitative, retrospective, observational, descriptive and analytical quantitative approach approaching the medical records of children and adolescents submitted to HSCT in a referral hospital service for this type of transplantation in the state of Rio Grande do Sul North (RN). The final sample consisted of 35 records patients aged between 2 and 18 years old who underwent HSCT from February 2008 to December 2015 and who presented the data necessary for the study. The records analyzed showed a littlemajority of male patients (51.42%) and 60.00% of these men were students and 71.42% lived in the state of the Rio Grande do Norte. According to the clinical characteristics, 34.3% of the patients had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and 25.71% had Acute Myeloid Leukemia as the main diagnosis. Gastrointestinal toxicities were the most frequent (97.1%) and all patients received antineoplastic/chemotherapeutic and antiemetic treatment. The allogeneic HSCT was the most frequently performed (57.14%) and the most used source of Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) was the peripheral blood (54.29%) and 5.71% of these patients developed the Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD), of which one was affected by acute GVHD and another by chronic GVHD. Septsis was the most frequent cause of death (60%). The profile of the clinical variables presented by the children and adolescents of this study shows that the most prevalent diagnosis was ALL, the most frequent toxicities were gastrointestinal, cardiac, respiratory and hematological, the most common HSCT was allogeneic peripheral blood and the greatest cause of mortality was sepsis. These data are similar to studies conducted in North America, Europe and Asia.

O Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas (TCTH) é utilizado em crianças como um tratamento definitivo para várias doenças oncológicas, imunodeficiências, hemoglobinopatias, malignidades que envolvem o sistema hematológico, distúrbios de metabolismo congênito, entre outros. Caracterizar o perfil clínico e epidemiológico de crianças e adolescentes submetidos ao TCTH em um serviço de referência do estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Trata de um estudo epidemiológico de abordagem quantitativa, do tipo coorte retrospectiva, observacional, descritivo e analítico onde foram abordados os prontuários de crianças eadolescentes submetidos ao TCTH em um serviço hospitalar de referência para esse tipo de transplante no estado do Rio Grande do Norte (RN). A amostra final foi composta por 35 prontuários de pacientes com idade entre dois e 18 anos que realizaram o TCTH no período de fevereiro de 2008 a dezembro de 2015 e que apresentavam os dados necessários ao estudo. Do total de prontuários analisados houve discreta maioria de pacientes do sexo masculino (51,42%). Destes, 60,00% eram estudantes e 71,42% residiam no estado do RN. De acordo com as características clínicas, 34,3% apresentaram como diagnóstico principal a Leucemia Linfoblástica Aguda e 25,71% a Leucemia Mieloide Aguda. As toxicidades gastrointestinais foram as que mais ocorreram (97,1%) e todos receberam tratamento com antineoplásicos/quimioterápicos e antieméticos. O TCTH alogênico foi o mais frequentemente realizado (57,14%) e a fonte de CPH mais utilizada foi o sangue periférico (54,29%) e 5,71% desenvolveram a Doença do Enxerto Contra Hospedeiro (DECH), dos quais um foi acometido por DECH aguda e outro pela forma crônica. A causa de morte com maior frequência foi a sepse (60%). O perfil das variáveis clínicas apresentadas pelas crianças e adolescents desta pesquisa mostram que o diagnóstico mais prevalente foi o de LLA, as toxicidades que mais ocorreram foram as gastrointestinais, cardíacas, respiratórias e hematológicas, o TCTH mais realizado foi o alogênico de sangue periférico e a maior causa de mortalidade foi a sepse. Tais dados se assemelham aos estudos realizados na América do Norte,Europa e Ásia.

Percepções sobre o tratamento de homens com diagnóstico de sífilis: uma síntese rápida de evidências qualitativas / Perceptions about the treatment of men diagnosed with syphilis: a rapid synthesis of qualitative evidence

A sífilis atinge mais de 12 milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo e os homens são importante fonte de transmissão para suas parcerias, quando inadequadamente diagnosticados e tratados. Fatores individuais relacionados aos homens podem ser importantes barreiras para buscar e aderir ao tratamento adequado. O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever aspectos relacionados ao tratamento de homens com diagnóstico de sífilis, na percepção deles de suas parcerias e de profissionais de saúde.Foi conduzida uma síntese rápida de evidências qualitativas, a partir da análise de estudos primários qualitativos e posterior descrição dos resultados.