Exploring the perspectives of healthcare workers and Program managers on the use of Truenat as a new tool for TB and DR-TB diagnosis in Nigeria: A qualitative study.

Background: World Health Organization in the year 2020 recommended the use of Truenat as a replacement for smear microscopy in Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and detection of rifampicin resistance. This study was designed to assess enablers and barriers to effective implementation of Truenat assays for TB diagnosis in Nigeria and determine the acceptability of use of Truenat among healthcare workers and TB Program managers in Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive exploratory study design was used.

Acceptance and Completion Rates of 3-Month Isoniazid-Rifampicin (3HR) Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment (TPT) Among Contacts of Bacteriologically Confirmed TB Patients-Patients' and Healthcare Workers' Perspectives.

Providing tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) to close contacts of persons with TB is a core strategy recommended by WHO for the prevention and control of TB. Nigeria rolled out the 3-month Isoniazid-Rifampicin (3HR) shorter regimen TPT as a pilot for use among eligible adult and child contacts. This study assesses acceptance and completion rates of 3HR TPT among contacts and determines the perspectives of healthcare workers (HCWs) and contacts on acceptance and completion of 3HR TPT in Nigeria.

Triage test for all-oral drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) regimen: a phase IV study to assess effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of the Xpert MTB/XDR assay for rapid triage and treatment of DR-TB.

Introduction: The TriAD study will assess the Xpert MTB/XDR (Xpert XDR; Cepheid) assay to detect tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance in sputum testing positive for TB to rapidly triage and treat patients with a short all-oral treatment regimen.

Methods And Analysis: In this study, approximately 4800 Xpert MTB/RIF or Ultra MTB-positive patients (irrespective of rifampicin (RIF) resistance (RR) status) from several clinical sites across South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia will be enrolled over 18-24 months and followed-up for approximately 6 months post-TB treatment completion. Participants will be enrolled into one of two cohorts based on Xpert MTB/RIF and Xpert XDR results: () positive participants with RR in Cohort 1 (n=880) and positive RIF susceptible TB patients with isoniazid mono-resistance irrespective of presence of resistance to fluoroquinolones, second-line injectable drugs or ethionamide in Cohort 2 (n=400).

Perceived ease of use of Truenat among laboratory staff as a new diagnostic tool for TB in Nigeria: Result of a pilot roll-out.

In January 2020, WHO released a rapid communication on use of molecular assays as initial tests for diagnosis of tuberculosis, recommending Truenat as a replacement for smear microscopy in TB diagnosis. This study was designed to assess perceived ease of use of Truenat among Laboratory staff as a new diagnostic tool for TB in Nigeria. This study used a cross-sectional design.

Effectiveness of Using AI-Driven Hotspot Mapping for Active Case Finding of Tuberculosis in Southwestern Nigeria.

: Nigeria is among the top five countries that have the highest gap between people reported as diagnosed and estimated to have developed tuberculosis (TB). To bridge this gap, there is a need for innovative approaches to identify geographical areas at high risk of TB transmission and targeted active case finding (ACF) interventions. Leveraging community-level data together with granular sociodemographic contextual information can unmask local hotspots that could be otherwise missed.

Partnering with the private laboratories to strengthen TB diagnostics in Nigeria.

Despite being curable and preventable, tuberculosis (TB) affected 10 million people worldwide in 2020. In the seven highest TB burden countries, private providers account for more than two-thirds of initial care seeking. Closing gaps and finding the "missing people" with TB requires engagement of the private sector for better diagnostics and treatment.

Completion of 6-mo isoniazid preventive treatment among eligible under six children: A cross-sectional study, Lagos, Nigeria.

Background: Nigeria is one of the thirty high burden countries with significant contribution to the global childhood tuberculosis epidemic. Tuberculosis annual risk for children could be as high as 4% particularly in high tuberculosis (TB) prevalent communities. Isoniazid (INH) Preventive Therapy has been shown to prevent TB incidence but data on its implementation among children are scarce.

Ease and equity of access to free DR-TB services in Nigeria- a qualitative analysis of policies, structures and processes.

Introduction: Persistent low rates of case notification and treatment coverage reflect that accessing diagnosis and treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Nigeria remains a challenge, even though it is provided free of charge to patients. Equity in health access requires availability of comparable, appropriate services to all, based on needs, and irrespective of socio-demographic characteristics. Our study aimed to identify the reasons for Nigeria's low rates of case-finding and treatment for DR-TB.

Factors influencing diagnosis and treatment initiation for multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in six sub-Saharan African countries: a mixed-methods systematic review.

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis burdens fragile health systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), complicated by high prevalence of HIV. Several African countries reported large gaps between estimated incidence and diagnosed or treated cases. Our review aimed to identify barriers and facilitators influencing diagnosis and treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in SSA, which is necessary to develop effective strategies to find the missing incident cases and improve quality of care.

Rates and timeliness of treatment initiation among drug-resistant tuberculosis patients in Nigeria- A retrospective cohort study.

Background: There were an estimated 580,000 new cases of multidrug/rifampicin resistant TB (DR-TB) in 2015, and only 20% were initiated on treatment. This study explored health system and patient factors associated with initiation and timeliness of treatment among DR-TB patients in Nigeria, ranked 4th globally for estimated TB cases in 2015.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using 2015 diagnosis and treatment data from the Nigerian TB program electronic records examined "treatment ever received" (yes/no) and "treatment within 30 days" (yes/no).

Doing no harm? Adverse events in a nation-wide cohort of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Nigeria.

Background: Adverse events (AEs) of second line anti-tuberculosis drugs (SLDs) are relatively well documented. However, the actual burden has rarely been described in detail in programmatic settings. We investigated the occurrence of these events in the national cohort of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients in Nigeria.