Digital health in the era of COVID-19: Reshaping the next generation of healthcare.

COVID-19 is one of the most deadly diseases to have stricken us in recent decades. In the fight against this disease, governments and stakeholders require all the assistance they can get from various systems, including digital health interventions. Digital health technologies are supporting the tracking of the COVID-19 outbreak, diagnosing patients, expediting the process of finding potential medicines and vaccines, and disinfecting the environment, The establishment of electronic medical and health records, computerized clinical decision support systems, telemedicine, and mobile health have shown the potential to strengthen the healthcare system.

Post tuberculosis chronic lung disease in tuberculosis HIV coinfected and non-HIV individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Post tuberculosis (TB) sequelae are faced by many individuals who survive TB. The most common of all is post-TB chronic lung disease (CLD) and pulmonary impairment. We reviewed studies that estimated the prevalence of post-TB CLD in patients with TB only and those with TB-HIV coinfection.

Capacity and Readiness Assessment of Healthcare Facilities for Digital Health Interventions Against Tuberculosis and HIV in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: There is a high level of concern that low-income countries lack the capacity and readiness to effectively adopt, implement, and scale up digital health interventions (DHIs). We aimed to assess the infrastructure and human resource capacity and readiness of healthcare facilities to adopt and implement any new DHI for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV care and treatment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Method: We carried out a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study in 14 public healthcare facilities that provide TB and HIV care and treatment services.

Digital health interventions in the clinical care and treatment of tuberculosis and hiv in central Ethiopia: An initial provider perceptions and acceptability study using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model.

Background: Digital health technologies are emerging as promising technologies to advance clinical care. This study aimed to assess providers' perceptions and acceptability of digital health interventions (DHIs) in the clinical care and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: This was a multi-center, facility-based, mixed-method, cross-sectional study that included 14 government health-care facilities.

Programmatic challenges in managing multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Malawi.

Background: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is one of the most urgent challenges that Malawi tends to take a firm public health action. A recent increase in multidrug MDR-TB cases, a decrease in treatment success rate, and a double increase of lost-to-follow-up call into question the country's programmatic management of MDR-TB (PMDT). As such, the study aimed at exploring programmatic challenges in managing MDR-TB in Malawi.

Molecular bacterial load assay versus culture for monitoring treatment response in adults with tuberculosis.

The lack of rapid, sensitive, and deployable tuberculosis diagnostic tools is hampering the early diagnosis of tuberculosis and early detection of treatment failures. The conventional sputum smear microscopy or Xpert MTB/RIF assay cannot distinguish between alive and dead bacilli and the culture method delays providing results. Tuberculosis molecular bacterial load assay is a reverse transcriptase real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction that quantifies viable tuberculosis bacillary load as a marker of treatment response for patients on anti-tuberculosis therapy.

Pyrosequencing for diagnosis of multidrug and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis: A systemic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Multidrug and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (M/XDR-TB) pose major threats to global health. Diagnosis accuracy and delay have been the major drivers for the upsurge of M/XDR-TB. Pyrosequencing (PSQ) is a novel, real-time DNA sequencing for rapid detection of mutations associated with M/XDR-TB.

Human papillomavirus self-sampling versus standard clinician-sampling for cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection remains a major health threat in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). HPV self-sampling could help find and treat cervical cancer at an early stage. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of HPV self-sampling over the standard health facility-based clinician-sampling for cervical cancer screening through a systematic review and meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials.

Efficacy and safety of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine versus artemether-lumefantrine for treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Ugandan children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

Background: The emergence of artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia and Plasmodium falciparum kelch13 propeller gene mutations in sub-Saharan African pose the greatest threat to global efforts to control malaria. This is a critical concern in Uganda, where artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Ugandan children.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection caused by mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) continues to pose challenges to global health. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) for preventing HBV MTCT. PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched through August 2020.