Executive summary: Clinical practice guidelines on the management of resistant tuberculosis of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) and the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC).

The Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) and the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) have developed together Clinical Practice Guidelines (GPC) on the management of people affected by tuberculosis (TB) resistant to drugs with activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These clinical practice guidelines include the latest updates of the SEPAR regulations for the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB from 2017 to 2020 as the starting point. The methodology included asking relevant clinical questions based on PICO methodology, a literature search focusing on each question, and a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the evidence, with a summary of this evidence for each question.

Tuberculosis in Spain: An opinion paper.

This document is the result of the deliberations of the Committee on Emerging Pathogens and COVID-19 of the Illustrious Official College of Physicians of Madrid (ICOMEM) regarding the current situation of tuberculosis, particularly in Spain. We have reviewed aspects such as the evolution of its incidence, the populations currently most exposed and the health care circuits for the care of these patients in Spain. We have also discussed latent tuberculosis, the reality of extrapulmonary disease in the XXI century and the means available in daily practice for the diagnosis of both latent and active forms.

Advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the mandatory use of masks in health centers and nursing homes in Spain. How and when is it justified to maintain it?

We address the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the mandatory use of masks in health centers and nursing homes in the current epidemiological situation in Spain and after the declaration of the World Health Organization on May 5, 2023 of the end of COVID-19 as public health emergency. We advocate for prudence and flexibility, respecting the individual decision to wear a mask and emphasizing the need for its use when symptoms suggestive of a respiratory infection appear, in situations of special vulnerability (such as immunosuppression), or when caring for patients with those infections. At present, given the observed low risk of severe COVID-19 and the low transmission of other respiratory infections, we believe that it is disproportionate to maintain the mandatory use of masks in a general way in health centers and nursing homes.

Clinical standards for the management of adverse effects during treatment for TB.

Adverse effects (AE) to TB treatment cause morbidity, mortality and treatment interruption. The aim of these clinical standards is to encourage best practise for the diagnosis and management of AE. 65/81 invited experts participated in a Delphi process using a 5-point Likert scale to score draft standards.