Mental disorders and drug/alcohol use in patients commencing extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment.

Mental disorders and alcohol/drug use worsen treatment outcomes for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), but data are lacking for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB. We investigated the association of baseline mental disorders and alcohol/drug use on XDR-TB treatment outcomes in a retrospective study of 53 XDR-TB Peruvian patients during 2010-2012. Logistic regression estimated the odds ratios for unfavourable XDR-TB treatment outcomes. Overall treatment success was 25%. Mental disorders and drug/alcohol use were found in respectively 22.4% and 20.4% of patients; neither were associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes. Future research should explore the relationship between mental health and drug/alcohol use in XDR-TB treatment outcomes

Autonomic cardiovascular function in high-altitude Andean natives with chronic mountain sickness

Autonomic cardiovascular function in high-altitude Andean natives with chronic mountain sickness. C. KEYL, 1 A. SCHNEIDER, 1 A. GAMBOA, 2 L. SPICUZZA, 3 N. CASIRAGHI, 4 ́ N-VELARDE, 2 AND L. BERNARDI 4, A. MORI, 5 R. TAPIA RAMIREZ, 2 F. LEO 1 Department of Anesthesiology, University Medical Center, 93042 Regensburg, Germany; 2 Department of Physiological Sciences, Universidad Cayetano Heredia, Lima 700, Peru; 3 Institute of Respiratory Diseases, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy; 4 Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Hematology, and 5 Department of Pathology, University of Pavia and Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy We evaluated autonomic cardiovascular regulation in subjects with polycythemia and chronic mountain sickness (CMS) and tested the hypothesis that an increase in arterial oxygen saturation has a beneficial effect on arterial baroreflex sensitivity in these subjects. Ten Andean natives with a Hct >65% and 10 natives with a Hct 65% showed an increased incidence of CMS compared with subjects with Hct <60%. Spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity was significantly lower in subjects with high Hct compared with the control group. The effects of supplemental oxygen or modification of the breathing pattern on autonomic function were as follows: 1) heart rate decreased significantly after both maneuvers in both groups, and 2) spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity increased significantly in subjects with high Hct and did not differ from subjects with low Hct. Temporary slow-frequency breathing may provide a beneficial effect on the autonomic cardiovascular function in high-altitude natives with CMS

Sleep-related hypoxaemia and excessive erythrocytosis in Andean high-altitude natives

Sleep-related hypoxaemia and excessive erythrocytosis in Andean high-altitude natives. L. Spicuzza * , N. Casiraghi # , A. Gamboa } , C. Keyl z , A. Schneider z , A. Mori \ua7 , F. Leon-Velarde } , G.U. Di Maria * , L. Bernardi # *Dept of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialities, University of Catania, # Dept of Internal Medicine and \ua7 Pathology, IRCCS S. Matteo and University of Pavia, Italy. } University Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. z Dept of Anaesthesiology, University of Regensburg, Germany. To determine whether nocturnal hypoxaemia contributes to the excessive erythrocytosis (EE) in Andean natives, standard polysomnographies were performed in 10 patients with EE and in 10 controls (mean haematocrit 76.6 +/- 1.3% and 5.4 +/- 0.8%, respectively) living at an altitude of 4,380 m. In addition, the effect of O2 administration for 1 h prior to sleep, and the relationship between the hypoxic/hypercapnic ventilatory response and the apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) during sleep were studied. Awake arterial oxygen saturation (Sa,O2) was significantly lower in patients with EE than in controls (83.7 +/- 0.3% versus 85.6 +/- 0.4%). In both groups, the mean Sa,O2 significantly decreased during sleep (to 80.0 +/- 0.8% in EE and to 82.8 +/- 0.5% in controls). The mean Sa,O2 values remained significantly lower in patients with EE than in controls at all times of the night, and patients with EE spent significantly more time than the controls with an Sa,O2 of <80%. There were no differences between the two groups in the number and duration of the apnoeas/hypopnoeas. None of these variables were affected by O2 administration. In both groups the AHI positively correlated with the hypercapnic ventilatory response. Andean natives undergo minor respiratory disorders during sleep. The reduction in oxygen saturation found in subjects with excessive erythrocytosis was small, yet consistent and potentially important, as it remained below the threshold known for the increase in erythropoietin stimulation. This may be an important factor promoting erythropoiesis, but its relevance needs to be further explored

Developing capacity in health informatics in a resource poor setting: lessons from Peru

The public sectors of developing countries require strengthened capacity in health informatics. In Peru, where formal university graduate degrees in biomedical and health informatics were lacking until recently, the AMAUTA Global Informatics Research and Training Program has provided research and training for health professionals in the region since 1999. The Fogarty International Center supports the program as a collaborative partnership between Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru and the University of Washington in the United States of America. The program aims to train core professionals in health informatics and to strengthen the health information resource capabilities and accessibility in Peru. The program has achieved considerable success in the development and institutionalization of informatics research and training programs in Peru. Projects supported by this program are leading to the development of sustainable training opportunities for informatics and eight of ten Peruvian fellows trained at the University of Washington are now developing informatics programs and an information infrastructure in Peru. In 2007, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia started offering the first graduate diploma program in biomedical informatics in Peru

Clinical laboratory reference values amongst children aged 4 weeks to 17 months in Kilifi, Kenya: A cross sectional observational study

Reference intervals for clinical laboratory parameters are important for assessing eligibility, toxicity grading and management of adverse events in clinical trials. Nonetheless, haematological and biochemical parameters used for clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa are typically derived from industrialized countries, or from WHO references that are not region-specific. We set out to establish community reference values for haematological and biochemical parameters amongst children aged 4 weeks to 17 months in Kilifi, Kenya. We conducted a cross sectional study nested within phase II and III trials of RTS, S malaria vaccine candidate. We analysed 10 haematological and 2 biochemical parameters from 1,070 and 423 community children without illness prior to experimental vaccine administration. Statistical analysis followed Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute EP28-A3c guidelines. 95% reference ranges and their respective 90% confidence intervals were determined using non-parametric methods. Findings were compared with published ranges from Tanzania, Europe and The United States. We determined the reference ranges within the following age partitions: 4 weeks to <6 months, 6 months to less than <12 months, and 12 months to 17 months for the haematological parameters; and 4 weeks to 17 months for the biochemical parameters. There were no gender differences for all haematological and biochemical parameters in all age groups. Hb, MCV and platelets 95% reference ranges in infants largely overlapped with those from United States or Europe, except for the lower limit for Hb, Hct and platelets (lower); and upper limit for platelets (higher) and haematocrit(lower). Community norms for common haematological and biochemical parameters differ from developed countries. This reaffirms the need in clinical trials for locally derived reference values to detect deviation from what is usual in typical children in low and middle income countries

Adaptation and Mal-Adaptation to Ambient Hypoxia; Andean, Ethiopian and Himalayan Patterns

The study of the biology of evolution has been confined to laboratories and model organisms. However, controlled laboratory conditions are unlikely to model variations in environments that influence selection in wild populations. Thus, the study of “fitness” for survival and the genetics that influence this are best carried out in the field and in matching environments

Mental Disorders and Drug/Alcohol Use in Patients Commencing Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment

Mental disorders and alcohol/drug use worsen treatment outcomes for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), but data are lacking for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB. We investigated the association of baseline mental disorders and alcohol/drug use on XDR-TB treatment outcomes in a retrospective study of 53 XDR-TB Peruvian patients during 2010–2012. Logistic regression estimated the odds ratios for unfavourable XDR-TB treatment outcomes. Overall treatment success was 25%. Mental disorders and drug/alcohol use were found in respectively 22.4% and 20.4% of patients; neither were associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes. Future research should explore the relationship between mental health and drug/alcohol use in XDR-TB treatment outcomes