Prevalence and determinants of health-related quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in Yaoundé, Cameroon: a pilot study.

Introduction: the present study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQL) and identify the factors associated with poor quality of life, among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study at Jamot Hospital and Polymere Medical Center, Yaoundé, from February 1 to June 30, 2020. All consent adult COPD patients who were followed in both centers during the recruitment period were included. The Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to assess HRQL. Poor quality of life was defined by an SGRQ score ≥30. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, USA) software. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with poor quality of life. The statistical significance threshold was set at 0.05. Results: of the 63 patients invited to participate in the study, only 29 were finally included. Almost 3/5 (58.6%) were males, and their median age (interquartile range, IQR) was 68.0 (57.0 - 74.5) years. The median HRQL score (IQR) was 44.2 (23.2 - 65.0). The prevalence (95% confidence interval, 95% CI) of poor HRQL was 65.5% (48.3 - 82.8) %. The history of exacerbations during the last 12 months [odds ratio (95% CI) = 12.3 (1.1 - 136.7); p=0.04] emerged as the sole independent predictor of poor HRQL. Conclusion: the prevalence of poor health-related quality of life was high in these COPD patients. The presence of exacerbations in the past 12 months was an independent factor associated with poor HRQL in patients with COPD.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Cameroon: Prevalence and Predictors-A Multisetting Community-Based Study.

Objective: Little is known concerning chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the disease remains underdiagnosed. We aimed to estimate its prevalence in Cameroon and look for its predictors. Methods: Adults aged 19 years and older were randomly selected in 4 regions of Cameroon to participate in a cross-sectional community-based study. Data were collected in the participant's home or place of work. Spirometry was performed on selected participants. COPD was defined as the postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC) < lower limit of normal, using the global lung initiative (GLI) equations for Black people. Binomial logistic regression was used to seek COPD-associated factors. The strength of the association was measured using the adjusted odds ratio (aOR). Results: A total of 5055 participants (median age (25th-75th percentile) = 43 (30-56) years, 54.9% of women) were enrolled. COPD prevalence (95% confidence interval (95% CI)) was 2.9% (2.4, 3.3)%. Independent predictors of COPD (aOR (95% CI)) were a high educational level (4.7 (2.0, 11.1)), living in semiurban or rural locality (1.7 (1.4, 3.0)), tobacco smoking (1.7 (1.1, 2.5)), biomass fuel exposure (1.9 (1.1, 3.3)), experience of dyspnea (2.2 (1.4, 3.5)), history of tuberculosis (3.6 (1.9, 6.7)), and history of asthma (6.3 (3.4, 11.6)). Obesity was protective factor (aOR (95%CI) = 0.3 (0.2, 0.5)). Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD was relatively low. Alternative risk factors such as biomass fuel exposure, history of tuberculosis, and asthma were confirmed as predictors.

Incidence and factors associated with unfavourable treatment outcome among patients with rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

INTRODUCTION: in Cameroon patients with multidrug/rifampicin resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR/RR-PTB) are treated with a 9-11 month standardised shorter treatment regimen. Despite its effectiveness, factors associated with the occurrence of an unfavourable treatment outcome in this group of patients are not known. Determine the incidence and identify factors associated with an unfavourable treatment outcome among patients with rifampicin resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (RR-PTB) in Yaoundé. METHODS: we conducted a retrospective record review of all consecutive patients with bacteriologically confirmed RR-PTB followed up at the specialised MDR/RR-TB treatment centre of the Jamot Hospital in Yaoundé (JHY) from January 2013 to November 2019. A patient was classified as having an unfavourable outcome if he/she had treatment failure, died or was lost to follow-up during the course of treatment. RESULTS: a total of 242 RR-PTB patients with a mean age of 35.59 ± 12.02 years including 144 (59.5%) males were registered. Forty-nine (49) of the 242 patients had an unfavourable treatment outcome giving a cumulative incidence of 20.20% (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 15.40-25.90%). Multivariable analysis revealed that patients with an unfavourable outcome were more likely to be males (odds ratio (OR): 2.94; 95% CI: 1.24-7.00, p= 0.015), HIV infected (OR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.17-6.06, p = 0.019), and have a baseline haemoglobin level ≤ 10g/dl (OR: 2.87; 95% CI: 1.25-6.58, p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: the rate of an unfavourable treatment outcome among patients with RR-PTB at the specialised MDR/RR-TB treatment centre of the JHY is relatively high. The male sex, HIV infection and moderate to severe anaemia are independent factors associated with an unfavourable treatment outcome.