The yield of tuberculosis contact investigation in low- and middle-income settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Contact investigation, the systematic evaluation of individuals in close contact with an infectious tuberculosis (TB) patient, is a key active case-finding strategy for global TB control. Better estimates of the yield of contact investigation can guide strategies to reduce the number of underreported and underdiagnosed TB cases, approximately three million cases per year globally. A systematic review (Prospero ID # CRD42019133380) and meta-analysis was conducted to update and enhance the estimates of the yield of TB contact investigation in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Parallels and Mutual Lessons in Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Transmission, Prevention, and Control.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had unprecedented negative effects on global health and economies, drawing attention and resources from many other public health services. To minimize negative effects, the parallels, lessons, and resources from existing public health programs need to be identified and used. Often underappreciated synergies relating to COVID-19 are with tuberculosis (TB).

Magnitude of transmission among household and non-household contacts of TB patients.

The household and non-household contacts of patients with tuberculosis (TB) face varying degrees of risk of infection by . To quantify new infection and to determine the risk factors associated with new infection among named contacts in San Francisco, CA, USA. We performed a cohort study in patients with culture-positive pulmonary TB.

Interplay of strain and race/ethnicity in the innate immune response to M. tuberculosis.

Background: The roles of host and pathogen factors in determining innate immune responses to M. tuberculosis are not fully understood. In this study, we examined host macrophage immune responses of 3 race/ethnic groups to 3 genetically and geographically diverse M.

'It makes the patient's spirit weaker': tuberculosis stigma and gender interaction in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Setting: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Objectives: To describe tuberculosis (TB) related stigma and to understand how it interacts with gender to affect access to care.

Design: Eight focus group discussions were held among 48 TB patients and their household members, and a thematic content analysis was carried out.

Clinical and bacteriological characteristics associated with clustering of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Setting: The impact of the genetic characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the clustering of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has not been analyzed together with clinical and demographic characteristics.

Objective: To determine factors associated with genotypic clustering of MDR-TB in a community-based study.

Design: We measured the proportion of clustered cases among MDR-TB patients and determined the impact of clinical and demographic characteristics and that of three M.

Impact of Euro-American sublineages of on new infections among named contacts.

Background: The impact of demographic, clinical, and bacterial factors on new infection by Euro-American lineage Mycobacterium tuberculosis among contacts of patients with tuberculosis (TB) has not been evaluated.

Objective: To describe the risk factors for new infection by Euro-American M. tuberculosis sublineages in San Francisco, California.

Identifying barriers to and facilitators of tuberculosis contact investigation in Kampala, Uganda: a behavioral approach.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends routine household tuberculosis contact investigation in high-burden countries but adoption has been limited. We sought to identify barriers to and facilitators of TB contact investigation during its introduction in Kampala, Uganda.

Methods: We collected cross-sectional qualitative data through focus group discussions and interviews with stakeholders, addressing three core activities of contact investigation: arranging household screening visits through index TB patients, visiting households to screen contacts and refer them to clinics, and evaluating at-risk contacts coming to clinics.

Treatment of non-cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis with shortened fluoroquinolone-based regimens: a meta-analysis.

Setting: Several recent trials evaluating 4-month fluoroquinolone (FQ) containing regimens found that none of the experimental regimens were non-inferior to standard 6-month therapy in treating patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).

Objective: To answer whether FQ-containing duration-shortened regimens are non-inferior to standard therapy in the treatment of patients with non-cavitary PTB.

Design: Systematic review of all randomized and quasi-randomized trials that substituted an FQ into standard therapy for less than 6 months' duration to treat drug-susceptible, non-cavitary PTB.

Executive Summary: Official American Thoracic Society/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guidelines: Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis.

The American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Infectious Diseases Society of America jointly sponsored the development of this guideline for the treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis, which is also endorsed by the European Respiratory Society and the US National Tuberculosis Controllers Association. Representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Canadian Thoracic Society, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and the World Health Organization also participated in the development of the guideline. This guideline provides recommendations on the clinical and public health management of tuberculosis in children and adults in settings in which mycobacterial cultures, molecular and phenotypic drug susceptibility tests, and radiographic studies, among other diagnostic tools, are available on a routine basis.

Official American Thoracic Society/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guidelines: Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis.

The American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Infectious Diseases Society of America jointly sponsored the development of this guideline for the treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis, which is also endorsed by the European Respiratory Society and the US National Tuberculosis Controllers Association. Representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Canadian Thoracic Society, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and the World Health Organization also participated in the development of the guideline. This guideline provides recommendations on the clinical and public health management of tuberculosis in children and adults in settings in which mycobacterial cultures, molecular and phenotypic drug susceptibility tests, and radiographic studies, among other diagnostic tools, are available on a routine basis.

Xpert(®) MTB/RIF detection of rifampin resistance and time to treatment initiation in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Background: Patients at elevated risk of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) are prioritized for Xpert(®) MTB/RIF testing; however, the clinical usefulness of the test in this population is understudied.

Design: From November 2011 to June 2014, consecutive out-patients with a history of previous TB in high-density suburbs of Harare, Zimbabwe, were tested using Xpert, solid and liquid culture, and the microscopic observation drug susceptibility assay. Diagnostic accuracy for rifampin (RMP) resistance and time to initiation of second-line regimens were ascertained.

Factors Associated with Prevalent Tuberculosis Among Patients Receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) causes significant morbidity/mortality among human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals in Africa. Reducing TB burden in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is a public health priority.

Aim: We determined the factors associated with prevalent TB among patients receiving HAART.

Surgery as an Adjunctive Treatment for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: An Individual Patient Data Metaanalysis.

Background: Medical treatment for multidrug-resistant (MDR)-tuberculosis is complex, toxic, and associated with poor outcomes. Surgical lung resection may be used as an adjunct to medical therapy, with the intent of reducing bacterial burden and improving cure rates. We conducted an individual patient data metaanalysis to evaluate the effectiveness of surgery as adjunctive therapy for MDR-tuberculosis.

Treatment of Tuberculosis. A Historical Perspective.

Of all achievements in medicine, the successful treatment of tuberculosis has had one of the greatest impacts on society. Tuberculosis was a leading cause of disease and a mortal enemy of humanity for millennia. The first step in finding a cure was the discovery of the cause of tuberculosis by Robert Koch in 1882.

Pathways and costs of care for patients with tuberculosis symptoms in rural Uganda.

Setting: Six district-level government health centers in rural Uganda and the surrounding communities.

Objective: To determine pathways to care and associated costs for patients with chronic cough referred for tuberculosis (TB) evaluation in Uganda.

Design: We conducted a cross-sectional study, surveying 64 patients presenting with chronic cough and undergoing first-time sputum evaluation at government clinics.

Quality of tuberculosis care in India: a systematic review.

Background: While Indian studies have assessed care providers' knowledge and practices, there is no systematic review on the quality of tuberculosis (TB) care.

Methods: We searched multiple sources to identify studies (2000-2014) on providers' knowledge and practices. We used the International Standards for TB Care to benchmark quality of care.

Reduced sensitivity of the QuantiFERON(®) test in diabetic patients with smear-negative tuberculosis.

Setting: Immunosuppressive conditions have been associated with low sensitivity of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). However, no systematic analysis of patient and bacterial characteristics has been performed before.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity and the risk factors for false-negative QuantiFERON(®)-TB (QFT) assay and TST in TB patients.