Tuberculosis control, and the where and why of artificial intelligence

Countries aiming to reduce their tuberculosis (TB) burden by 2035 to the levels envisaged by the World Health Organization End TB Strategy need to innovate, with approaches such as digital health (electronic and mobile health) in support of patient care, surveillance, programme management, training and communication. Alongside the large-scale roll-out required for such interventions to make a significant impact, products must stay abreast of advancing technology over time. The integration of artificial intelligence into new software promises to make processes more effective and efficient, endowing them with a potential hitherto unimaginable. Users can benefit from artificial intelligence-enabled pattern recognition software for tasks ranging from reading radiographs to adverse event monitoring, sifting through vast datasets to personalise a patient\u2019s care plan or to customise training materials. Many experts forecast the imminent transformation of the delivery of healthcare services. We discuss how artificial intelligence and machine learning could revolutionise the management of TB

Mandatory tuberculosis case notification in high tuberculosis-incidence countries : policy and practice

Mandatory tuberculosis (TB) notification is an important policy under the End TB Strategy, but little is known about its enforcement especially in high TB incidence countries. We undertook a literature search for selected high-incidence countries, followed by a questionnaire-based survey among key informants in countries with high-, intermediate-And low-TB incidence. Published literature on TB notification in high-incidence countries was limited, but it did illustrate some of the current barriers to notification and the importance of electronic systems to facilitate reporting by private providers. Required survey data were successfully gathered from 40 out of 54 countries contacted. TB is notifiable in 11 out of 15 high-incidence countries, all 16 intermediate-incidence countries, and all nine low-incidence countries contacted. TB case notification by public sector facilities is generally systematised, but few high-incidence countries had systems and tools to facilitate notification from private care providers. In the context of the new End TB Strategy aimed at eventual TB elimination, all countries should have TB on their national list of notifiable diseases. Enhancing the ease of notification by private providers is essential for effective implementation. To that effect, investing in strengthening disease surveillance systems and introducing digital tools to simplify notification are logical ways forward

Supporting clinical management of the difficult-to-treat TB cases : the ERS-WHO TB Consilium

Multi-drug and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/XDR-TB) are considered a serious threat for TB control and elimination. The outcome of these patients is still largely unsatisfactory as of today, with treatment success rates being consistently below 50% at global level. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that management of MDR-TB cases is supported by a specialized team, including complementary medical professionals able to cover several perspectives (clinical, both for adults and children; surgical; radiological; public health; psychological; nursing, among others). Implementation of such a body (known as Consilium in most of the former Soviet Union countries) is often a pre-requisite to apply for international TB control funding and concessionally priced medicines to treat M/XDR-TB cases. The primary objective of the ERS/WHO TB Consilium is to provide clinical consultation for drug-resistant TB and other difficult-to-treat TB cases, including co-infection with HIV and paediatric cases. Through technical guidance to clinicians managing complex TB cases, the main contribution and outcome of the initiative will be a public health response aimed at achieving correct treatment of affected patients and preventing further development of drug resistance. The Consilum's secondary objective is to ensure monitoring and evaluation of clinical practices on the ground (diagnosis, treatment and prevention)

Comparison of Tuberculin Skin test and Quantiferon immunological assay for latent Tuberculosis infection

Background. Correct identification of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a crucial element of the elimination strategy, allowing their adequate treatment. In addition to tuberculin skin test (TST), the Quantiferon test (QFT, based on whole blood γ-interferon release) had been recently proposed. Aim of the study is to compare this test to TST for identification of LTBI in a non-selected population, in order to verify their value in identifying truly infected individuals (entitled to receive preventive chemotherapy), and to exclude from treatment those having a positive TST for other reasons (e.g. after BCG vaccination). Methods. 136 consecutive persons (78 males, mean age 34±9 years) referred to the clinic for TST were recruited (78 born in low - or middle - income countries). Based on their history, the cases were divided into 4 groups: 1) recently traced contacts of whom 18 TST negative and 28 TST positive; 2) 22 screening subjects, all TST negative; 3) BCG vaccinated subjects (14); and 4) 54 subjects already undergoing treatment of LTBI for exposure to TB. Results. The overall agreement between TST and QFT was 72% (64% in TST positive and 88.4% in TST negative subjects). The proportion of TST positive/QFT negative BCG vaccinated individuals was 23.1%. The K coefficient was 0.474 in recently traced contacts, 0.366 in BCG vaccinated individuals and 0.451 overall. Conclusions. The study results suggest that agreement between TST and QFT is lower in TST positive than in negative subjects, being lower in individuals treated for LTBI. Quantiferon does not seem to have brought significant improvement in the diagnosis of LTBI

Prospective evaluation of improving fluoroquinolone exposure using centralised therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in patients with tuberculosis (PERFECT): a study protocol of a prospective multicentre cohort study

Introduction Global multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment success rates remain suboptimal. Highly active WHO group A drugs moxifloxacin and levofloxacin show intraindividual and interindividual pharmacokinetic variability which can cause low drug exposure. Therefore, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of fluoroquinolones is recommended to personalise the drug dosage, aiming to prevent the development of drug resistance and optimise treatment. However, TDM is considered laborious and expensive, and the clinical benefit in MDR-TB has not been extensively studied. This observational multicentre study aims to determine the feasibility of centralised TDM and to investigate the impact of fluoroquinolone TDM on sputum conversion rates in patients with MDR-TB compared with historical controls. Methods and analysis Patients aged 18 years or older with sputum smear and culture-positive pulmonary MDR-TB will be eligible for inclusion. Patients receiving TDM using a limited sampling strategy (t=0 and t=5 hours) will be matched to historical controls without TDM in a 1:2 ratio. Sample analysis and dosing advice will be performed in a centralised laboratory. Centralised TDM will be considered feasible if >80% of the dosing recommendations are returned within 7 days after sampling and 100% within 14 days. The number of patients who are sputum smear and culture-negative after 2 months of treatment will be determined in the prospective TDM group and will be compared with the control group without TDM to determine the impact of TDM. Ethics and dissemination Ethical clearance was obtained by the ethical review committees of the 10 participating hospitals according to local procedures or is pending (online supplementary file 1). Patients will be included after obtaining written informed consent. We aim to publish the study results in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT03409315)

Active tuberculosis, sequelae and COVID-19 co-infection: first cohort of 49 cases.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) pandemic has attracted interest because of its global rapid spread, clinical severity, high mortality rate, and capacity to overwhelm healthcare systems [1, 2]. SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs mainly through droplets, although surface contamination contributes and debate continues on aerosol transmission [3\u20135]