Time Elapsed from onset of symptoms to antituberculosis treatment in children with central nervous system tuberculosis in a tertiary hospital in South India: A mixed-methods pilot study.

A pilot study with a mixed-methods design was conducted to estimate the time for tuberculosis (TB) treatment initiation and associated factors among children with central nervous system-TB (CNS-TB). A total of 38 children were enrolled for the quantitative component, and 20 in-depth interviews were conducted. The median duration (interquartile range) from onset of symptoms to treatment initiation was 23 (11, 55) days.

Status of Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients Initiated on Treatment in an Urban Setting, South India.

Introduction: Early initiation of drug susceptibility testing (DST) guided anti-tuberculosis treatment benefits the patient in terms of better treatment outcomes and possibly reduces the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) disease in the community. To determine the status of universal DST (UDST) coverage in smear-positive pulmonary TB patients (PTB) initiated on treatment under the TB program in Greater Chennai Corporation. In addition, the barriers and facilitators for UDST were explored.

Standardization of a stool concentration method for detection in the pediatric population.

Background: The inability of young children to expectorate sputum and paucibacillary status of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) increases its diagnostic complexity. In this study, we aimed to standardize a stool concentration method for the detection of MTB and its drug resistance by line probe assay (LPA).

Methods: The stool from 10 healthy children spiked with H37Rv in five different dilutions (1:1, 1:10, 1:100, 1:1000, and 1:10,000), and stool from 10 confirmed TB and 54 clinically diagnosed TB children were subjected to an in-house stool concentration protocol.

Randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of varying doses of linezolid with bedaquiline and pretomanid in adults with pre-extensively drug-resistant or treatment intolerant/non-responsive multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis: study protocol.

Introduction: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a global public health problem. Patients suffer for months if undiagnosed or treated inadequately, transmitting DR-TB in the community before succumbing to the disease. Early diagnosis, prompt treatment initiation and completion play a significant role in treatment success.

Tuberculosis screening in household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in an urban setting.

Background: Household contacts (HHC) of tuberculosis (TB) patients are at risk of TB infection and disease. The study assessed the utility of "Household contact card and register" for screening of HHC of pulmonary TB (PTB) patients for TB and explored the reasons for HHC not being screened and followed-up.

Methods: The "Household contact card and register" was implemented by the Health Care Workers (HCW) of the TB Control Programme in Chennai District for screening HHC of index PTB patients initiated on treatment between June and August, 2018.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension associated with anaemia, secondary to antiretroviral drug in a human immunodeficiency virus positive patient.

Papilledema in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome is an alarming finding. Any condition giving rise to raised intracranial tension (ICT) can cause papilledema, and in these patients, it could be secondary to opportunistic infections like meningitis to neoplasm. We report a case of a 28-year old female with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, who presented to us, with papilledema.

Ocular lesions in 1,000 consecutive HIV-positive patients in India: a long-term study.

Background: Ocular lesions in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have shown changes in disease prevalence and pattern. Although they have been described in the Western population, there are not many such studies in the HAART era from India. This study aims to present the clinical profile, systemic correlation, and visual outcome in HIV-positive patients in relation to HAART in comparison with pre-HAART Indian studies and current Western data.

Clinical outcomes among HIV/tuberculosis-coinfected patients developing immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after HAART initiation in South India.

Introduction: We determine the frequency and immunological outcome of developing immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) among HIV/tuberculosis (TB)-coinfected Indians receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Methods: Patients coinfected with TB and HIV who initiated HAART were classified based on treatment outcomes (IRIS and non-IRIS) utilizing an observational HIV/AIDS cohort.

Results: A total of 1731 HIV/TB-coinfected patients initiated HAART, and 95 of these patients (5.

Spectrum of malignancies among HIV-infected patients in South India.

Introduction: The current study examines the spectrum of malignancies among HIV-infected South Indians enrolled in a clinical care program.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a nested matched case-control study among 42 HIV-infected cases who developed cancer and 82 HIV-infected controls between 1998 and 2008 at a tertiary care HIV care program in South India.

Results: The most common types of cancer included non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (38.

Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Second-Line Generic Protease Inhibitor Containing HAART after First-Line Failure among South Indian HIV-Infected Patients.

Introduction: We describe the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of protease inhibitor (PI) containing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among patients switching from nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based HAART from a clinical setting in South India.

Methods: We assessed a prospective cohort of 91 HIV-infected patients with at least 12 months of clinical follow-up on second-line ritonavir-boosted PI-based therapy between August 2003 and December 2008.

Results: More than three fourths of patients met the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for immunological failure at the time of switch.

Factors associated with anaemia in HIV-infected individuals in southern India.

Anaemia accelerates disease progression and increases mortality among HIV-infected individuals. Few studies have characterized this problem in developing countries. Haemoglobin values of adults presenting to an HIV tertiary care center in India between 1996 and 2007 were collected (n = 6996).

High frequency of clinically significant mutations after first-line generic highly active antiretroviral therapy failure: implications for second-line options in resource-limited settings.

Continuation of failed highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens can lead to the accumulation of mutations that may limit options for second-line treatment. We studied the pattern of drug resistance mutations among 138 Indian patients who experienced failure of nonnucleotide reverse-transcriptase-containing first-line highly active antiretroviral therapy. This study demonstrates a high frequency of drug resistance mutations in human immunodeficiency virus-infected Indians who experience immunologic treatment failure and suggests the need for viral load monitoring.

Spectrum of adverse events after generic HAART in southern Indian HIV-infected patients.

To determine the incidence of clinically significant adverse events after long-term, fixed-dose, generic highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) use among HIV-infected individuals in South India, we examined the experiences of 3154 HIV-infected individuals who received a minimum of 3 months of generic HAART between February 1996 and December 2006 at a tertiary HIV care referral center in South India. The most common regimens were 3TC + d4T + nevirapine (NVP) (54.8%), zidovudine (AZT) + 3TC + NVP (14.

Atypically distributed cutaneous lesions of Norwegian scabies in an HIV-positive man in South India: a case report.

Introduction: Immune-compromised subjects, especially those with underlying HIV disease, are prone to be infected with Norwegian scabies, where the cutaneous lesions are classically distributed over the extremities.

Case Presentation: We report the case of an HIV-positive 16-year-old man with severe crusted Norwegian scabies initially misdiagnosed as a dermal fungal infection. The patient had extensive, generalized, thick, hyperkeratotic, crusting, yellowish papule lesions distributed on the entire body from his scalp to his toes.