Adjunctive N-Acetylcysteine and Lung Function in Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis remains a global health concern, and half of cured patients have permanent lung injury. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has shown beneficial antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects in preclinical tuberculosis models. We examined its effects on tuberculosis treatment outcomes.

Chronic respiratory disease observatory for Africa (CHEST-Africa): study protocol for the prevalence, determinants and economic impacts of asthma and COPD in Africa.

Introduction: Contemporary data on the burden of chronic respiratory diseases in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. More so, their economic burden is not well described. This study aims to establish a chronic respiratory disease observatory for Africa.

Lung outcomes and related risk factors in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection: a hospitalised single-centre cohort from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: Sequelae post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, including lung and functional impairment, pose a significant challenge post-recovery. We explored the burden and risk factors for post-COVID-19 sequelae in an African population with prevalent comorbidities including tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.

Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study on hospitalised adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 20 March to 06 October 2021 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, South Africa.

Decreased prevalence and severity of asthma symptoms among adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria, 1995-2018.

Phases I and III of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) documented increased asthma symptoms among Nigerian 13-14-year old adolescents. We investigated the trend further using the Global Asthma Network (GAN) surveillance. Using ISAAC methodology, GAN Phase I data on symptoms and risk factors for asthma and asthma management were obtained from February to July 2018.

Characterising sources of PM exposure for school children with asthma: a personal exposure study across six cities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Air pollution is the second largest risk to health in Africa, and children with asthma are particularly susceptible to its effects. Yet, there is a scarcity of air pollution exposure data from cities in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to identify potential exposure reduction strategies for school children with asthma living in urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Predictors associated with critical care need and in-hospital mortality among children with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in a high HIV infection burden region.

Introduction: Despite the extra mortality associated with COVID-19 death globally, there is scant data on COVID-19-related paediatric mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed predictors of critical care needs and hospital mortality in South African children with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in region with high HIV infection burden.

Methods: We conducted a secondary multicentre analysis of the AFREhealth cohort (a multinational, multicentre cohort of paediatric COVID-19 clinical outcomes across six African countries) of children admitted to the Inkosi Albert Luthuli, a quaternary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with confirmed RT-PCR between March 2020 and December 2020.

Preterm birth, birth weight, infant weight gain and their associations with childhood asthma and spirometry: a cross-sectional observational study in Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the origins of asthma and high prevalence of abnormal lung function remain unclear. In high-income countries (HICs), associations between birth measurements and childhood asthma and lung function highlight the importance of antenatal and early life factors in the aetiology of asthma and abnormal lung function in children. We present here the first study in sub-Saharan Africa to relate birth characteristics to both childhood respiratory symptoms and lung function.

Asthma symptoms, spirometry and air pollution exposure in schoolchildren in an informal settlement and an affluent area of Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Although 1 billion people live in informal (slum) settlements, the consequences for respiratory health of living in these settlements remain largely unknown. This study investigated whether children living in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya are at increased risk of asthma symptoms.

Methods: Children attending schools in Mukuru (an informal settlement in Nairobi) and a more affluent area (Buruburu) were compared.

Chronic respiratory disease in adult outpatients in three African countries: a cross-sectional study.

The greatest burden of chronic respiratory disease is in low- and middle-income countries, with recent population-based studies reporting substantial levels of obstructive and restrictive lung function. To characterise the common chronic respiratory diseases encountered in hospital outpatient clinics in three African countries. This was a cross-sectional study of consecutive adult patients with chronic respiratory symptoms (>8 weeks) attending hospital outpatient departments in Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan.

The burden and determinants of post-TB lung disease.

Post-TB lung disease (PTLD) is an important but under-recognised chronic respiratory disease in high TB burden settings such as Tanzania. This was a cross-sectional survey of adults within 2 years of completion of TB treatment in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Data were collected using questionnaires (symptoms and exposures), spirometry and chest radiographs to assess outcome measures, which were correlated with daily life exposures, including environment and diet.

Availability of diagnostic services and essential medicines for non-communicable respiratory diseases in African countries.

The global burden of disease due to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is substantial and particularly great in low- and middle-income countries, including many African countries. Management is affected by availability of diagnostic tests and essential medicines. The study aimed to explore the availability of spirometry services and essential medicines for asthma and COPD in African countries.

Non-communicable respiratory disease and air pollution exposure in Malawi: a prospective cohort study.

Rationale: There are no population-based studies from sub-Saharan Africa describing longitudinal lung function in adults.

Objectives: To explore the lung function trajectories and their determinants, including the effects of air pollution exposures and the cleaner-burning biomass-fuelled cookstove intervention of the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS), in adults living in rural Malawi.

Methods: We assessed respiratory symptoms and exposures, spirometry and measured 48-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO), on three occasions over 3 years.

Dealing with Access to Spirometry in Africa: A Commentary on Challenges and Solutions.

Spirometry is an important tool in the surveillance, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of respiratory disease, yet its accessibility is currently limited in Africa where the burden of respiratory diseases is amongst the highest globally. The reasons for limited access to spirometry in Africa include poor access to training and skilled technicians, limited availability of equipment, consumables, and technical support, and lack of human and financial resources. The Pan African Thoracic Society, working together with regional African thoracic societies and key research initiatives in Africa, have made progress in training and education, but a lot of work is still needed to meet the challenges faced.

Spirometry: coming of age in Africa.

http://ow.ly/kgCl3028nQf.