Cost-effectiveness and budget impact of decentralising childhood tuberculosis diagnosis in six high tuberculosis incidence countries: a mathematical modelling study.

Background: The burden of childhood tuberculosis remains high globally, largely due to under-diagnosis. Decentralising childhood tuberculosis diagnosis services to lower health system levels could improve case detection, but there is little empirically based evidence on cost-effectiveness or budget impact.

Methods: In this mathematical modelling study, we assessed the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of decentralising a comprehensive diagnosis package for childhood tuberculosis to district hospitals (DH-focused) or primary health centres (PHC-focused) compared to standard of care (SOC).

Effect of systematic tuberculosis detection on mortality in young children with severe pneumonia in countries with high incidence of tuberculosis: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial.

Background: Tuberculosis diagnosis might be delayed or missed in children with severe pneumonia because this diagnosis is usually only considered in cases of prolonged symptoms or antibiotic failure. Systematic tuberculosis detection at hospital admission could increase case detection and reduce mortality.

Methods: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial in 16 hospitals from six countries (Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia) with high incidence of tuberculosis.

Barriers in access to services and information gaps by genders and key populations in the national Tuberculosis programme in Cambodia.

Approximately 34% of people with tuberculosis (TB) were undiagnosed in Cambodia in 2017. This study explored barriers in access to TB services and information gaps by genders and key populations in the Cambodian national TB programme. In 2017, we conducted a consensus and validation workshop, desk reviews, 19 in-depth interviews, and 30 focus group discussions with representatives of stakeholder groups, affected populations, and communities.

Resistance to Second-Line Anti-TB Drugs in Cambodia: A Phenotypic and Genetic Study.

Background: Due to the emergence of (M.tb) clinical isolates resistant to most potent first-line drugs (FLD), second-line drugs (SLD) are being prescribed more frequently. We explore the genetic characteristics and molecular mechanisms of M.

Evaluation of Loopamp Assay for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Cambodia.

The Loopamp™ MTBC kit (TB-LAMP) is recommended by WHO for complex detection in low-income countries with a still low drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) rate. This study is aimed at testing its feasibility in Cambodia on sputa collected from presumptive tuberculosis patients. 499 samples were tested at a smear microscopy center and 200 at a central-level mycobacteriology laboratory.

Effect of community active case-finding strategies for detection of tuberculosis in Cambodia: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cambodia has made notable progress in the fight against tuberculosis (TB). However, these gains are impeded by a significant proportion of undiagnosed cases. To effectively reach people with TB, active case-finding (ACF) strategies have been adopted by countries affected by the epidemic, including Cambodia, alongside passive case finding (PCF).

Can the High Sensitivity of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra Be Harnessed to Save Cartridge Costs? Results from a Pooled Sputum Evaluation in Cambodia.

Despite the World Health Organization recommending the use of rapid molecular tests for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), uptake has been limited, partially due to high cartridge costs. Other infectious disease programs pool specimens to save on diagnostic test costs. We tested a sputum pooling strategy as part of a TB case finding program using Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Ultra).

Performance of algorithms for tuberculosis active case finding in underserved high-prevalence settings in Cambodia: a cross-sectional study.

: Most studies evaluate active case findings (ACF) for bacteriologically confirmed TB. Adapted diagnostic approaches are needed to identify cases with lower bacillary loads. : To assess the likelihood of diagnosing all forms of TB, including clinically diagnosed pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB, using different ACF algorithms in Cambodia.

Diagnosis and management of latent tuberculosis infection in Asia: Review of current status and challenges.

Asia has the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) and latent TB infection (LTBI) in the world. Optimizing the diagnosis and treatment of LTBI is one of the key strategies for achieving the WHO 'End TB' targets. We report the discussions from the Asia Latent TubERculosis (ALTER) expert panel meeting held in 2018 in Singapore.

Initiation, scale-up and outcomes of the Cambodian National MDR-TB programme 2006-2016: hospital and community-based treatment through an NGO-NTP partnership.

Introduction: Prolonged inpatient multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment for all patients is not sustainable for high-burden settings, but there is limited information on community-based treatment programme outcomes for MDR-TB.

Methods: The Cambodian Health Committee, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), launched the Cambodian MDR-TB programme in 2006 in cooperation with the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP) including a community-based treatment option as a key programme component. The programme was transferred to NTP oversight in 2011 with NGO clinical management continuing.

Tuberculosis active case finding in Cambodia: a pragmatic, cost-effectiveness comparison of three implementation models.

Background: Globally, almost 40% of tuberculosis (TB) patients remain undiagnosed, and those that are diagnosed often experience prolonged delays before initiating correct treatment, leading to ongoing transmission. While there is a push for active case finding (ACF) to improve early detection and treatment of TB, there is extremely limited evidence about the relative cost-effectiveness of different ACF implementation models. Cambodia presents a unique opportunity for addressing this gap in evidence as ACF has been implemented using different models, but no comparisons have been conducted.

Cross-sectional studies of tuberculosis prevalence in Cambodia between 2002 and 2011.

Objective: To measure trends in the pulmonary tuberculosis burden between 2002 and 2011 and to assess the impact of the DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) strategy in Cambodia.

Methods: Cambodia's first population-based nationwide tuberculosis survey, based on multistage cluster sampling, was conducted in 2002. The second tuberculosis survey, encompassing 62 clusters, followed in 2011.

Evaluation of the 2007 WHO guideline to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis in ambulatory HIV-positive adults.

Background: In 2007 WHO issued a guideline to improve the diagnosis of smear-negative and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in HIV-positive patients. This guideline relies heavily on the acceptance of HIV-testing and availability of chest X-rays.

Methods And Findings: Cohort study of TB suspects in four tuberculosis (TB) clinics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Resistance and renewal: health sector reform and Cambodia's national tuberculosis programme.

Following the destruction of Cambodia's health infrastructure during the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979) and the subsequent decade of United Nations sanctions, international development assistance has focused on reconstructing the country's health system. The recognition of Cambodia's heavy burden of tuberculosis (TB) and the lapse of TB control strategies during the transition to democracy prompted the national tuberculosis programme's relaunch in the mid-1990s as WHO-backed health sector reforms were introduced. This paper examines the conflicts that arose between health reforms and TB control programmes due to their different operating paradigms.