Pretreatment attrition after rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis diagnosis with Xpert MTB/RIF or ultra in high TB burden countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The WHO endorsed the Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) technique since 2011 as initial test to diagnose rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB). No systematic review has quantified the proportion of pretreatment attrition in RR-TB patients diagnosed with Xpert in high TB burden countries.Pretreatment attrition for RR-TB represents the gap between patients diagnosed and those who effectively started anti-TB treatment regardless of the reasons (which include pretreatment mortality (death of a diagnosed RR-TB patient before starting adequate treatment) and/or pretreatment loss to follow-up (PTLFU) (drop-out of a diagnosed RR-TB patient before initiation of anti-TB treatment).

Realist evaluation of a community-based antiretroviral therapy (CBART) programme for key populations in Benue State in Nigeria.

Background: World Health Organization recommended community-based ART (CBART) approaches to improve access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) and treatment outcomes among key populations living with (KPLHIV). Key populations (KP) are female sex workers, men who have sex with men, persons who inject drugs, and transgender people. How CBART for KP (KP-CBART) worked and why, for whom and in what circumstances it worked within KP communities or at community sites, are yet to be described.

Safety of high-dose amikacin in the first week of all-oral rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis treatment for the prevention of acquired resistance (STAKE): protocol for a single-arm clinical trial.

Introduction: An effective rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) treatment regimen should include prevention of resistance amplification. While bedaquiline (BDQ) has been recommended in all-oral RR-TB treatment regimen since 2019, resistance is rising at alarming rates. This may be due to BDQ's delayed bactericidal effect, which increases the risk of selecting for resistance to fluoroquinolones and/or BDQ in the first week of treatment when the bacterial load is highest.

Low tuberculosis treatment initiation after positive tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan results.

https://bit.ly/3VGHekC.

Understanding male circumcision: insights from a peri-urban community in Maputo City, Mozambique.

Background: Circumcision is a protective measure against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reducing the risk of HIV infection. This study reported coverage of male circumcision and assessed the factors associated with male uncircumcision in a peri-urban area in Maputo City, Mozambique.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of the Health Demographic Surveillance System in the Polana Caniço neighborhood investigated the sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with uncircumcised males aged 15-49 y from October 2019 to June 2021.

Short oral treatment regimens for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis are safe and effective for young children: results from a field-based, non-randomised clinical trial from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

https://bit.ly/3UnWm43

Uptake and challenges with daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men and transgender women, suburban Yangon, Myanmar.

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention in risk groups. We assessed PrEP uptake and 12-month retention among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) in Myanmar during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and a political crisis.

Methods: Using prospectively collected data, we assessed the proportion of persons eligible, initiated and retained 12 months on PrEP.

Relapse after treatment with standardized all-oral short regimens for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB): A systematic review and -analysis.

Background: Treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) has been shortened to 12 months or less, with duration depending on the regimen used and treatment response. Treatment shortening has the potential to increase the risk of relapse, with a new episode of RR-TB after cure or completion. The proportion of relapses after standardized all-oral short (12 months or less) RR-TB regimens has not yet been systematically reviewed, which is the main objective of this review.

Correction: How to bring residents' psychosocial well-being to the heart of the fight against Covid-19 in Belgian nursing homes-A qualitative study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Refined understanding of the impact of the complex diversity on the intrinsic susceptibility to pretomanid.

Unlabelled: Previous work reported unprecedented differences in the intrinsic susceptibility of the complex (MTBC) to pretomanid (Pa) using the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) system. We tested 125 phylogenetically diverse strains from all known MTBC lineages (1-9) without known Pa resistance mutations and four strains with known resistance mutations as controls. This confirmed that MTBC, unlike most bacteria-antimicrobial combinations, displayed substantial differences in the intrinsic susceptibility relative to the technical variation of Pa MIC testing.

Correction: Psychiatric comorbidities among patients with complex drug-resistant tuberculosis in Mumbai, India.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Management of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in conflict-affected areas: The case of Iraq.

Since December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) has encouraged National Tuberculosis Programs to deprioritize the use of injectable-containing regimens and roll-out all-oral bedaquiline-containing regimens for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) treatment. Consequently, Iraq gradually replaced the injectable-containing regimen with an all-oral regimen, including bedaquiline. To assess treatment enrolment and outcomes of both regimens during a transitioning phase in Iraq, where health system services are recovering from decades of war, we conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study using routinely collected programmatic data for patients enrolled between 2019-2021.

Challenges and knowledge gaps in the management of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease in sub-Saharan African countries with a high tuberculosis burden: a scoping review.

Introduction: In sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries endemic for tuberculosis (TB), previous TB is a significant risk factor for non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). The deployment of GeneXpert MTB/RIF in pulmonary TB diagnostic work-up regularly identifies symptomatic patients with a positive smear microscopy but negative GeneXpert, indicative of NTM presence. This scoping review outlines recent evidence for NTM-PD diagnosis and management in SSA.

Development of antepartum risk prediction model for postpartum hemorrhage in Lagos, Nigeria: A prospective cohort study (Predict-PPH study).

Objectives: There is currently a limited ability to accurately identify women at risk of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). We conducted the "Predict-PPH" study to develop and evaluate an antepartum prediction model and its derived risk-scoring system.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of healthy pregnant women who registered and gave birth in five hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria, from January to June 2023.

Effect of dolutegravir-based versus efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy on excessive weight gain in adult treatment-naïve HIV patients at Matsanjeni health center, Eswatini: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: There is limited data on dolutegravir (DTG)-associated weight gain from settings with a dual burden of HIV and overnutrition.

Methods: In Eswatini (at Matsanjeni), among 156 and 160 adult patients on DTG-based and EFV-based antiretroviral therapy (ART), respectively, we studied excessive weight gain (BMI at 24 months ART greater than baseline and ≥25 kg/m).

Results: The median BMI increase in DTG-based patients was 1.

Implementation of the advanced HIV disease care package with point-of-care CD4 testing during tuberculosis case finding: A mixed-methods evaluation.

During TB-case finding, we assessed the feasibility of implementing the advanced HIV disease (AHD) care package, including VISITECT CD4 Advanced Disease (VISITECT), a semiquantitative test to identify a CD4≤200cells/μl. Adult participants with tuberculosis symptoms, recruited near-facility in Lesotho and South-Africa between 2021-2022, were offered HIV testing (capillary blood), Xpert MTB/RIF and Ultra, and MGIT culture (sputum). People living with HIV (PLHIV) were offered VISITECT (venous blood) and Alere tuberculosis-lipoarabinomannan (AlereLAM, urine) testing.

Systematic review on cumulative HIV viraemia among people living with HIV receiving antiretroviral treatment and its association with mortality and morbidity.

Background: We performed a systematic review to generate evidence on the association between cumulative human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viraemia and health outcomes.

Methods: Quantitative studies reporting on HIV cumulative viraemia (CV) and its association with health outcomes among people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were included. We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science and conference abstracts from 1 January 2008 to 1 August 2022.

Community-supported self-administered tuberculosis treatment combined with active tuberculosis screening: a pilot experience in Conakry, Guinea.

Directly observed treatment (DOT) for tuberculosis (TB) is recommended by the World Health Organization. However, DOT does not always meet patients' preferences, burdens health facilities, and is hard to implement in settings where access to healthcare services is regularly interrupted. A model addressing these limitations of DOT is community-supported self-administered treatment (CS-SAT), in which patients who self-administer TB treatment receive regular visits from community members.

Borderline mutations transmit at the same rate as common mutations in a tuberculosis cohort in Bangladesh.

The spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a growing problem in many countries worldwide. Resistance to one of the primary first-line drugs, rifampicin, is caused by mutations in the gene. So-called borderline mutations confer low-level resistance, in contrast to more common mutations which confer high-level resistance.

Rifampicin resistance conferring mutations among strains in Rwanda.

Background: The World Health Organization-endorsed phenotypic and genotypic drug-susceptibility testing (gDST/pDST) assays for the detection of rifampicin-resistant (RR) tuberculosis (TB), may miss some clinically relevant rpoB mutants, including borderline mutations and mutations outside the gDST-targeted hotspot region. Sequencing of the full rpoB gene is considered the reference standard for rifampicin DST but is rarely available in RR-TB endemic settings and when done indirectly on cultured isolates may not represent the full spectrum of mutations. Hence, in most such settings, the diversity and trends of rpoB mutations remain largely unknown.

Face mask sampling (FMS) for tuberculosis shows lower diagnostic sensitivity than sputum sampling in Guinea.

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) diagnosis relies on sputum examination, a challenge in sputum-scarce patients. Alternative non-invasive sampling methods such as face mask sampling (FMS) have been proposed.

Objective: To evaluate the value of FMS for PTB diagnosis by assessing its agreement with sputum samples processed by GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Ultra)(Xpert) testing, and describe FMS sensitivity and specificity.