Cost of TB care and equity in distribution of catastrophic TB care costs across income quintiles in India.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) poses a significant social and economic burden to households of persons with TB (PwTB). Despite free diagnosis and care under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), individuals often experience significant out-of-pocket expenditure and lost productivity, causing financial catastrophe. We estimated the costs incurred by the PwTB during TB care and identified the factors associated with the costs.

Bridging the "know-do" gap to improve active case finding for tuberculosis in India: A qualitative exploration into national tuberculosis elimination program staffs' perspectives.

Background: In 2022, India's national tuberculosis (TB) elimination program (NTEP) commissioned a national level evaluation of active case finding (ACF) for TB to guide evidence-based strategic planning. As part of this evaluation, based on secondary data analysis we observed that the quality of ACF was suboptimal in 2021. Hence, this study aimed to understand the enablers, barriers, and suggested solutions to improve ACF for TB in India from NTEP staff (provider) perspective.

Increased shedding of PECAM-1 associated with elevated serum MMP-14 levels as new blood indicators of dengue disease manifestation.

Objectives: Host factors that regulate plasma leakage during severe dengue (SD) are under investigation. While PECAM-1 and MMP-14 have been reported to regulate vascular integrity, their role in dengue pathogenesis remains unexplored. This study aims to assess the association of soluble PECAM-1 and MMP-14 with dengue severity symptoms.

Health-Related Quality of Life and its Determinants among School-going Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth in their transition from childhood to adulthood, affecting health outcomes and well-being. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a useful indicator of health outcomes, assessed in the current study along with associated determinants.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 634 randomly selected adolescents from 13 randomly selected schools in Gharwal division, Uttarakhand, India, from August 2019 to September 2020.

Lessons Learned From a Peer-Supported Differentiated Care and Nutritional Supplementation for People With TB in a Southern Indian State.

Two critical components of patient support systems for people with TB are regular counseling and locally managed nutritional support. As part of an ongoing differentiated TB care initiative called Tamil Nadu Kasanoi Erappila Thittam (meaning TB death-free initiative in Tamil, TN-KET) to reduce TB deaths, adults with TB with very severe undernutrition, respiratory insufficiency, or poor performance status are identified at diagnosis (triage-positive) and prioritized for referral, comprehensive clinical assessment, and inpatient care. Between January and June 2023, in 6 districts, a pilot exercise was conducted in which trained TB survivors, known as TB champions, provided baseline counseling and additional counseling (if required) to triage-positive people with TB at diagnosis.

Leptospirosis in India: insights on circulating serovars, research lacunae and proposed strategies to control through one health approach.

Leptospirosis is one of the most neglected zoonotic infections of public health concern worldwide and a remerging infection in tropical countries such as India. The infection least explored disease and the epidemiological and other critical data are scarce for the disease rate reported and to control the infection. Leptospirosis as sapronosis is as underrated as the infection itself, and this article aims to explore the significance of this aspect of the disease.

Quality of comprehensive assessment among severely ill TB patients referred after triaging in southern India.

To reduce TB deaths, Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state, implemented the first state-wide differentiated TB care strategy starting April 2022. Triage-positive severely ill patients are prioritised for comprehensive assessment and inpatient care. Routine program data during October-December 2022 revealed that documentation of total score after comprehensive assessment was available in only 39%, possibly indicating poor quality of comprehensive assessment.

How can TB Mukt Panchayat initiative contribute towards ending tuberculosis in India?

Community Engagement (CE) for disease control and health has been tested for a long time across the globe for various health programmes. Realizing the need for true multisectoral action and CE and ownership for ending TB on an accelerated timeline, the Government of India launched a nationwide campaign for 'TB (meaning 'TB free village council' in Hindi language) on 24 March 2023, banking on the system of local self-governments in the country. Though it is an initiative with huge potential to contribute to India's efforts to end the TB epidemic, it is not without a few shortcomings.

Hand Hygiene Practices and Promotion in Public Hospitals in Western Sierra Leone: Changes Following Operational Research in 2021.

Hand hygiene is the most important intervention for preventing healthcare-associated infections and can reduce preventable morbidity and mortality. We described the changes in hand hygiene practices and promotion in 13 public hospitals (six secondary and seven tertiary) in the Western Area of Sierra Leone following the implementation of recommendations from an operational research study. This was a "before and after" observational study involving two routine cross-sectional assessments using the WHO hand hygiene self-assessment framework (HHSAF) tool.

Presence of heavy metals in over the counter teeth whitening products- An evaluative study.

Background: Dentistry plays a crucial role in shaping the facial aesthetics of a person and thus boosts self-esteem. Tooth discolouration is one of the significant cosmetic problems and hence, many teeth whitening products are widely used for discolouration. However, these products may have heavy metals or chemicals that can affect the tooth and other organs.

Have Hand Hygiene Practices in Two Tertiary Care Hospitals, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Improved in 2023 following Operational Research in 2021?

In 2021, an operational research study in two tertiary hospitals in Freetown showed poor hand hygiene compliance. Recommended actions were taken to improve the situation. Between February-April 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the same two hospitals using the World Health Organization hand hygiene tool to assess and compare hand hygiene compliance with that observed between June-August 2021.

Quality of active case-finding for tuberculosis in India: a national level secondary data analysis.

Background: India has been implementing active case-finding (ACF) for TB among marginalised and vulnerable (high-risk) populations since 2017. The effectiveness of ACF cycle(s) is dependent on the use of appropriate screening and diagnostic tools and meeting quality indicators.

Objectives: To determine the number of ACF cycles implemented in 2021 at national, state ( = 36) and district ( = 768) level and quality indicators for the first ACF cycle.

Household catastrophic health expenditures for rheumatoid arthritis: a single centre study from South India.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) not only has a physical and emotional toll but also has a substantial economic impact. This study aims to estimate the burden of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) on households due to RA in Tamil Nadu, India. We conducted cross-sectional descriptive hospital-based single-centre study at a tertiary care private multispecialty hospital in Tamil Nadu, India.

Are we expecting too much for too long from the vaccinators? A qualitative study on perceived challenges of COVID-19 vaccinators of district Shahdol, India.

Background: There is a paucity of knowledge regarding challenges faced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinators in resource constraint settings like district Shahdol, Central India. Hence, the present study was planned to explore the perceived challenges of vaccinators regarding COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: In October 2021, district health authorities conducted a one-day workshop with the auxiliary nurse midwives, staff nurses, and lady health visitors who work as vaccinators.

Comparison of complete and spatial sampling frames for estimation of the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

A complete sampling frame (CSF) is needed for the development of probability sampling structures; utilisation of a spatial sampling frame (SSF) was the objective of the present study. We used two sampling methods, simple random sampling (SRS) and stratified random sampling (STRS), to compare the prevalence estimates delivered by a CSF to that by a SSF when applied to self-reported hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a semi-urban setting and in a rural one. A CSF based on Geodatabase of all households and all individuals was available for our study that focused on adults aged 18-69 years in the two settings.

Differential expression of interferon inducible protein: Guanylate binding protein (GBP1 & GBP2) in severe dengue.

Dengue virus is reported to activate endothelial cells (EC), but the precise cause for severe dengue (SD) is not known. Guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) are IFN-inducible proteins secreted by ECs and are involved in the anti-oxidant and anti-viral response. The involvement of GBPs in the pathogenesis of dengue remains under explored.

Sepsis among Neonates in a Ghanaian Tertiary Military Hospital: Culture Results and Turnaround Times.

In this study, we described the bacterial profile, antibiotic resistance pattern, and laboratory result turnaround time (TAT) in neonates with suspected sepsis from a tertiary-level, military hospital in Accra, Ghana (2017-2020). This was a cross-sectional study using secondary data from electronic medical records. Of 471 neonates clinically diagnosed with suspected sepsis in whom blood samples were collected, the median TAT from culture request to report was three days for neonates who were culture-positive and five days for neonates who were culture-negative.

Associations between sexual stigma, enacted HIV stigma, internalized HIV stigma and homonegativity, and depression: testing an extended minority stress model among men who have sex with men living with HIV in India.

Limited data is available on the associations between intersectional stigmas and mental health outcomes among men who have sex with men living with HIV (MSMLH) in India. The minority stress model postulates that sexual stigma contributes to depression through proximal stressors like internalized homonegativity (IHN). Using cross-sectional survey data from 119 MSMLH in 2015/16, we tested whether: (1) sexual stigma and enacted HIV stigma (EHS) are associated with depression; (2) their effects on depression are mediated through IHN and internalized HIV stigma (IHS); and (3) their effects on IHN are mediated through IHS.

Early shedding of membrane-bounded ACE2 could be an indicator for disease severity in SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 uses membrane bound Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a key host receptor for its entry. However, inconsistent results are available in terms of shedding of membrane ACE2 and circulating levels of soluble ACE2 during SARS-CoV-2. To ascertain soluble ACE2 as an effective biomarker for the prediction of COVID-19 outcome, in the present study, we investigated the levels of plasma ACE2 during the early phase of infection in COVID-19 patients.