Healthcare providers' and community stakeholders' perception of using drones for tuberculosis diagnosis in Nepal: an exploratory qualitative study.

Background: In rural Nepal, poor road and transport networks and few testing laboratories impede tuberculosis diagnosis. A drone transport system was established to transport sputum samples to laboratories with advanced molecular diagnostic machines - GeneXpert MTB/RIF. This study explored the perceptions of using drones for tuberculosis diagnosis among community stakeholders, female community health volunteers, and healthcare providers from communities with drones implemented and without drone programs.

A case report: Lateral medullary syndrome with facial nerve palsy and hemiparesis.

Lateral medullary syndrome (LMS) is the most common and severe neurological syndrome associated with atherothrombotic occlusion of the intracranial vertebral artery, followed by posterior inferior cerebellar artery and medullary artery occlusion. It presents as a typical triad of oculosympathetic palsy (Horner's syndrome), ipsilateral gait ataxia, and hypoalgesia with ipsilateral thermoanesthesia of the face. In LMS, the upper motor neuron facial palsy is caused by the involvement of aberrant supranuclear fibers of the facial nerve.

Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia Presented As Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizure: A Case Report.

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is an inherited, highly malignant cardiac channelopathy that causes autopsy-negative sudden deaths and sudden infant deaths. The symptoms of CPVT range from asymptomatic to syncopal. We present a patient who has had sporadic seizures for the last four years and was diagnosed with focal seizures.

Comparative Yield of Tuberculosis during Active Case Finding Using GeneXpert or Smear Microscopy for Diagnostic Testing in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study compared the yield of tuberculosis (TB) active case finding (ACF) interventions applied under TB REACH funding. Between June 2017 to November 2018, Birat Nepal Medical Trust identified presumptive cases using simple verbal screening from three interventions: door-to-door screening of social contacts of known index cases, TB camps in remote areas, and screening for hospital out-patient department (OPD) attendees. Symptomatic individuals were then tested using smear microscopy or GeneXpert MTB/RIF as first diagnostic test.

The role of active case finding in reducing patient incurred catastrophic costs for tuberculosis in Nepal.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy has established a milestone to reduce the number of tuberculosis (TB)- affected households facing catastrophic costs to zero by 2020. The role of active case finding (ACF) in reducing patient costs has not been determined globally. This study therefore aimed to compare costs incurred by TB patients diagnosed through ACF and passive case finding (PCF), and to determine the prevalence and intensity of patient-incurred catastrophic costs in Nepal.