Hepatic sarcoidosis: a case series

Sarcoidosis is a systemic non caseous granulomas disease. Liver is a common location but usually asymptomatic. Evidence based guidelines for this location treatment is lacking and the effect of corticosteroids may be inadequate. The aim of our study was to describe the clinical, biochemical, radiological and therapeutic features of seven patients with systemic sarcoidosis and liver involvement. A retrospective and descriptive monocentric study, over 3 years, including seven patients with systemic sarcoidosis and liver involvement. We included 5 women and 2 men with an average age of 43 years. Hepatic localization revealed sarcoidosis in 5 cases. Hepatomegaly was observed in all patients as well as abnormal serum liver function test reflected by anicteric cholestasis. Liver biopsy, showed in all granulomatous lesions consistent with sarcoidosis and severe fibrosis in 2 cases. Extra-hepatic manifestations were present in all patients represented mainly by pulmonary location. All patients were treated, five by corticosteroid and two with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Complete response was observed in one case, partial response in another case and corticosteroid refractoriness in one case. In two cases, corticosteroid therapy was introduced for less than 1 month, not allowing assessment of response. Antimalarials in combination with UDCA were used successfully in a patient with steroid-resistant liver disease. Liver involvement can reveal systemic sarcoidois. Given the risk of progression to severe liver disease, it must be screened in all patients with systemic sarcoidosis. Treatment is not systematic, and still based on corticosteroid therapy. In the absence of prospective randomized controlled trials, the efficacy of UDCA need to be proven.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Public health benefits of shifting from inpatient to outpatient TB care in Eastern Europe: optimising TB investments in Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania

Background: High rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR TB) continue to threaten public health, especially in Eastern Europe. Costs for treating DR TB are substantially higher than treating drug-susceptible TB, and higher yet if DR TB services are delivered in hospital. Therefore, countries are encouraged to transition from inpatient to ambulatory-focused TB care, which has been shown to have non-inferior health outcomes. / Methods: Allocative efficiency analyses were conducted for three countries in Eastern Europe, Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania to minimise a combination of active TB cases, prevalence of active TB, and TB-related deaths by 2035. These mathematical optimisations were carried out using Optima TB, a dynamical compartmental model of TB transmission. The focus of this study was to project the health and financial gains that could be realised if TB service delivery shifted from hospital to ambulatory-based care. / Findings: These analyses show that transitioning from inpatient to ambulatory TB care could reduce treatment costs by 5%−31% or almost 35 million US dollars across these three countries without affecting the quality of care. Improved TB outcomes could be achieved without additional spending by reinvesting these potential savings in cost-effective prevention and diagnosis interventions. / Conclusions: National governments should examine barriers delaying the adoption of outpatient DR TB care and consider the lost opportunities caused by delays in switching to more efficient and effective treatment modes

Public health benefits of shifting from hospital-focused to ambulatory TB care in Eastern Europe: Optimising TB investments in Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania

High rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continue to threaten public health, especially in Eastern Europe. Costs for treating DR-TB are substantially higher than treating drug-susceptible TB, and higher yet if DR-TB services are delivered in hospital. The WHO recommends that multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB be treated using mainly ambulatory care, shown to have non-inferior health outcomes, however, there has been a delay to transition away from hospital-focused MDR-TB care in certain Eastern European countries. Allocative efficiency analyses were conducted for three countries in Eastern Europe, Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania, to minimise a combination of TB incidence, prevalence, and mortality by 2035. A primary focus of these studies was to determine the health benefits and financial savings that could be realised if DR-TB service delivery shifted from hospital-focused to ambulatory care. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of findings from these studies to demonstrate the collective benefit of transitioning from hospital-focused to ambulatory TB care, and to address common regional considerations. We highlight that transitioning from hospital-focused to ambulatory TB care could reduce treatment costs by 20% in Romania, 24% in Moldova, and by as much as 40% in Belarus or almost 35 million US dollars across these three countries by 2035 without affecting quality of care. Improved TB outcomes could be achieved, however, without additional spending by reinvesting these savings in higher-impact TB diagnosis and more efficacious DR-TB treatment regimens. We found commonalities in the large portion of TB cases treated in hospital across these three regional countries, and similar obstacles to transitioning to ambulatory care. National governments in the Eastern European region should examine barriers delaying adoption of ambulatory DR-TB care and consider lost opportunities caused by delays in switching to more efficient treatment modes

Assessing fitness-for-purpose and comparing the suitability of COVID-19 multi-country models for local contexts and users

Background: Mathematical models have been used throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policymaking decisions. The COVID-19 Multi-Model Comparison Collaboration (CMCC) was established to provide country governments, particularly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and other model users with an overview of the aims, capabilities and limits of the main multi-country COVID-19 models to optimise their usefulness in the COVID-19 response. Methods: Seven models were identified that satisfied the inclusion criteria for the model comparison and had creators that were willing to participate in this analysis. A questionnaire, extraction tables and interview structure were developed to be used for each model, these tools had the aim of capturing the model characteristics deemed of greatest importance based on discussions with the Policy Group. The questionnaires were first completed by the CMCC Technical group using publicly available information, before further clarification and verification was obtained during interviews with the model developers. The fitness-for-purpose flow chart for assessing the appropriateness for use of different COVID-19 models was developed jointly by the CMCC Technical Group and Policy Group. Results: A flow chart of key questions to assess the fitness-for-purpose of commonly used COVID-19 epidemiological models was developed, with focus placed on their use in LMICs. Furthermore, each model was summarised with a description of the main characteristics, as well as the level of engagement and expertise required to use or adapt these models to LMIC settings. Conclusions: This work formalises a process for engagement with models, which is often done on an ad-hoc basis, with recommendations for both policymakers and model developers and should improve modelling use in policy decision making

How should HIV resources be allocated? Lessons learnt from applying Optima HIV in 23 countries.

INTRODUCTION: With limited funds available, meeting global health targets requires countries to both mobilize and prioritize their health spending. Within this context, countries have recognized the importance of allocating funds for HIV as efficiently as possible to maximize impact. Over the past six years, the governments of 23 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America have used the Optima HIV tool to estimate the optimal allocation of HIV resources. METHODS: Each study commenced with a request by the national government for technical assistance in conducting an HIV allocative efficiency study using Optima HIV. Each study team validated the required data, calibrated the Optima HIV epidemic model to produce HIV epidemic projections, agreed on cost functions for interventions, and used the model to calculate the optimal allocation of available funds to best address national strategic plan targets. From a review and analysis of these 23 country studies, we extract common themes around the optimal allocation of HIV funding in different epidemiological contexts. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The optimal distribution of HIV resources depends on the amount of funding available and the characteristics of each country's epidemic, response and targets. Universally, the modelling results indicated that scaling up treatment coverage is an efficient use of resources. There is scope for efficiency gains by targeting the HIV response towards the populations and geographical regions where HIV incidence is highest. Across a range of countries, the model results indicate that a more efficient allocation of HIV resources could reduce cumulative new HIV infections by an average of 18% over the years to 2020 and 25% over the years to 2030, along with an approximately 25% reduction in deaths for both timelines. However, in most countries this would still not be sufficient to meet the targets of the national strategic plan, with modelling results indicating that budget increases of up to 185% would be required. CONCLUSIONS: Greater epidemiological impact would be possible through better targeting of existing resources, but additional resources would still be required to meet targets. Allocative efficiency models have proven valuable in improving the HIV planning and budgeting process

Optima TB: A tool to help optimally allocate tuberculosis spending

Approximately 85% of tuberculosis (TB) related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries where health resources are scarce. Effective priority setting is required to maximise the impact of limited budgets. The Optima TB tool has been developed to support analytical capacity and inform evidence-based priority setting processes for TB health benefits package design. This paper outlines the Optima TB framework and how it was applied in Belarus, an upper-middle income country in Eastern Europe with a relatively high burden of TB. Optima TB is a population-based disease transmission model, with programmatic cost functions and an optimisation algorithm. Modelled populations include age-differentiated general populations and higher-risk populations such as people living with HIV. Populations and prospective interventions are defined in consultation with local stakeholders. In partnership with the latter, demographic, epidemiological, programmatic, as well as cost and spending data for these populations and interventions are then collated. An optimisation analysis of TB spending was conducted in Belarus, using program objectives and constraints defined in collaboration with local stakeholders, which included experts, decision makers, funders and organisations involved in service delivery, support and technical assistance. These analyses show that it is possible to improve health impact by redistributing current TB spending in Belarus. Specifically, shifting funding from inpatient- to outpatient-focused care models, and from mass screening to active case finding strategies, could reduce TB prevalence and mortality by up to 45% and 50%, respectively, by 2035. In addition, an optimised allocation of TB spending could lead to a reduction in drug-resistant TB infections by 40% over this period. This would support progress towards national TB targets without additional financial resources. The case study in Belarus demonstrates how reallocations of spending across existing and new interventions could have a substantial impact on TB outcomes. This highlights the potential for Optima TB and similar modelling tools to support evidence-based priority setting

Budd-Chiari syndrome: an unusual presentation of multisystemic sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown origin. All organs may be affected. Liver involvement is common but it is rarely symptomatic. Only a few cases of Budd- Chiari syndrome (BCS) secondary to a hepatic sarcoidosis have been described so far. We describe a case of multisystemic sarcoidosis presenting with BCS. A 42-year old female was referred to our department for chronic and anicteric cholestasis. Laboratory and imaging investigations disclosed features of chronic BCS associated with multisystemic sarcoidosis. The positive diagnosis was based on microscopic features, which showed hepatic, gastric and cutaneous non-caseating granulomas. Screening for an underlying thrombophilic disorder was negative. The diagnosis of BCS complicating hepatic sarcoidosis was the most likely. She was put on corticosteroids and anticoagulation therapy. To our knowledge, few cases of sarcoidosis-related BCS have been reported in the literature. In addition to being an uncommon presentation of sarcoidosis, this case illustrates the importance of recognizing an unusual cause of BCS and its therapeutic difficulties

Opportunities for improved HIV prevention and treatment through budget optimization in Eswatini.

IntroductionEswatini achieved a 44% decrease in new HIV infections from 2014 to 2019 through substantial scale-up of testing and treatment. However, it still has one of the highest rates of HIV incidence in the world, with 14 infections per 1,000 adults 15-49 years estimated for 2017. The Government of Eswatini has called for an 85% reduction in new infections by 2023 over 2017 levels. To make further progress towards this target and to achieve maximum health gains, this study aims to model optimized investments of available HIV resources.MethodsThe Optima HIV model was applied to estimate the impact of efficiency strategies to accelerate prevention of HIV infections and HIV-related deaths. We estimated the number of infections and deaths that could be prevented by optimizing HIV investments. We optimize across HIV programs, then across service delivery modalities for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), HIV testing, and antiretroviral refill, as well as switching to a lower cost antiretroviral regimen.FindingsUnder an optimized budget, prioritising HIV testing for the general population followed by key preventative interventions may result in approximately 1,000 more new infections (2% more) being averted by 2023. More infections could be averted with further optimization between service delivery modalities across the HIV cascade. Scaling-up index and self-testing could lead to 100,000 more people getting tested for HIV (25% more tests) with the same budget. By prioritizing Fast-Track, community-based, and facility-based antiretroviral refill options, an estimated 30,000 more people could receive treatment, 17% more than baseline or US$5.5 million could be saved, 4$4.5 million (7% of total budget) and US$6.6 million (10% of total budget) could be saved, respectively.SignificanceWith a relatively short five-year timeframe, even under a substantially increased and optimized budget, Eswatini is unlikely to reach their ambitious national prevention target by 2023. However, by optimizing investment of the same budget towards highly cost-effective VMMC, testing, and treatment modalities, further reductions in HIV incidence and cost savings could be realized