100 research outputs found

    Pulmonary tuberculosis in the central prison of Douala, Cameroon

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    Objective: To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in an urban prison in sub-Saharan Africa.Design: A cross-sectional survey. Setting: The Central Prison of Douala, Cameroon. Results: Two thousand four hundred and seventy four (87.4%) out of 2830 inmates underwent screening. Twenty seven (1.1%) of the inmates were under treatment for smear-positive PTB on commencement of the survey while 60 (2.4%) were diagnosed with smear and/or culture-positive PTB during the active case finding, resulting in a point prevalence of PTB of 3.5%. HIV seroprevalence in inmates without clinical signs of PTB was 111/1067 (10.4%) while it amounted to 6/24 (25%) in PTB patients. In multiple stepwise regression analysis, a low BMl, a prison stay of ≤12 months, and a history of previous incarceration were positively associated with PTB. Conclusion: The study results confirm the high prevalence rates of PTB in prison populations and underscore the need for urgent preventive measures. East African Medical Journal Vol. 83(1) 2006: 25-3

    positive predictive value for malignancy on surgical excision of breast lesions of uncertain malignant potential b3 diagnosed by stereotactic vacuum assisted needle core biopsy vancb a large multi institutional study in italy

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    Abstract Percutaneous core biopsy (CB) has been introduced to increase the ability of accurately diagnosing breast malignancies without the need of resorting to surgery. Compared to conventional automated 14 gauge needle core biopsy (NCB), vacuum-assisted needle core biopsy (VANCB) allows obtaining larger specimens and has recognized advantages particularly when the radiological pattern is represented by microcalcifications. Regardless of technical improvements, a small percentage of percutaneous CBs performed to detect breast lesions are still classified, according to European and UK guidelines, in the borderline B3 category, including a group of heterogeneous lesions with uncertain malignant potential. We aimed to assess the prevalence and positive predictive values (PPV) on surgical excision (SE) of B3 category (overall and by sub-categories) in a large series of non-palpable breast lesions assessed through VANCB, also comparison with published data on CB. Overall, 26,165 consecutive stereotactic VANCB were identified in 22 Italian centres: 3107 (11.9%) were classified as B3, of which 1644 (54.2%) proceeded to SE to establish a definitive histological diagnosis of breast pathology. Due to a high proportion of microcalcifications as main radiological pattern, the overall PPV was 21.2% (range 10.6%–27.3% for different B3 subtypes), somewhat lower than the average value (24.5%) from published studies (range 9.9%–35.1%). Our study, to date the largest series of B3 with definitive histological assessment on SE, suggests that B3 lesions should be referred for SE even if VANCB is more accurate than NCB in the diagnostic process of non-palpable, sonographically invisible breast lesions

    MDR/XDR-TB management of patients and contacts: Challenges facing the new decade. The 2020 clinical update by the Global Tuberculosis Network.

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    The continuous flow of new research articles on MDR-TB diagnosis, treatment, prevention and rehabilitation requires frequent update of existing guidelines. This review is aimed at providing clinicians and public health staff with an updated and easy-to-consult document arising from consensus of Global Tuberculosis Network (GTN) experts. The core published documents and guidelines have been reviewed, including the recently published MDR-TB WHO rapid advice and ATS/CDC/ERS/IDSA guidelines. After a rapid review of epidemiology and risk factors, the clinical priorities on MDR-TB diagnosis (including whole genome sequencing and drug-susceptibility testing interpretations) and treatment (treatment design and management, TB in children) are discussed. Furthermore, the review comprehensively describes the latest information on contact tracing and LTBI management in MDR-TB contacts, while providing guidance on post-treatment functional evaluation and rehabilitation of TB sequelae, infection control and other public health priorities

    Isoniazid resistance levels of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can largely be predicted by high-confidence resistance-conferring mutations.

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    YesThe majority of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates resistant to isoniazid harbour a mutation in katG. Since these mutations cause a wide range of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), largely below the serum level reached with higher dosing (15 mg/L upon 15–20 mg/kg), the drug might still remain partly active in presence of a katG mutation. We therefore investigated which genetic mutations predict the level of phenotypic isoniazid resistance in clinical M. tuberculosis isolates. To this end, the association between known and unknown isoniazid resistance-conferring mutations in whole genome sequences, and the isoniazid MICs of 176 isolates was examined. We found mostly moderate-level resistance characterized by a mode of 6.4 mg/L for the very common katG Ser315Thr mutation, and always very high MICs (≥19.2 mg/L) for the combination of katG Ser315Thr and inhA c-15t. Contrary to common belief, isolates harbouring inhA c-15t alone, partly also showed moderate-level resistance, particularly when combined with inhA Ser94Ala. No overt association between low-confidence or unknown mutations, except in katG, and isoniazid resistance (level) was found. Except for the rare katG deletion, line probe assay is thus not sufficiently accurate to predict the level of isoniazid resistance for a single mutation in katG or inhA.European Research Council (Starting Grant INTERRUPTB 311725 to CM, LR and BdJ), The Damien Foundatio

    Gonadal function and response to growth hormone (GH) in boys with isolated GH deficiency and to GH and gonadotropins in boys with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies.

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    [corrected] To evaluate spermatogenesis in patients with isolated GH deficiency and multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies. DESIGN: Treatment of isolated GH-deficient patients with recombinant human GH (weekly dose of 0.7 IU/kg) for 5.3 +/- 0.4 (mean +/- SD) years and cotreatment of multiple pituitary deficient patients with GH at the same dosage for 8.0 +/- 0.4 years and hCG (2,000 IU, three times per week) and hMG (500 IU, two times per week) for 13.7 +/- 1.1 months. SETTING: Endocrine Pediatric Unit. PATIENTS: Eight patients affected by isolated GH deficiency and seven by multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum LH, FSH, and T, testicular volume, semen volume, density, count, and motility. RESULTS: Patients with isolated GH deficiency completed their pubertal development in 19.0 +/- 3.5 months and patients with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies in 13.7 +/- 1.1 months. At the end of puberty, the two groups of patients had similar testicular volume, penis size, sperm concentration, motility, and morphology, although T levels and seminal volume were lower in isolated GH-deficient patients than in multiple pituitary deficient patients. CONCLUSIONS: The two groups of patients, treated specifically for their identified hormonal deficiencies, in the end had similar satisfactory reproductive results

    Sviluppo puberale e fertilit\ue0 nei soggetti con deficit combinato di ormone della crescita e gonadotropine

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    Sono stati studiati pazienti con deficit isolato di ormone della crescita e deficit combinato di ormone della crescita e gonadotropine. I risultati dopo trattamento dei deficit combinati con un protocollo utilizzante LH ed FSH ricombinanti hanno portato a risultati sovrapponibili in termini di sperimogramma tra i due gruppi, con buone probabilit\ue0 per una futura fertilit\ue0

    Gonadal function and response to growth hormone (GH) in boys with isolated GH deficiency and to GH and gonadotropins in boys with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies

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    Objective: To evaluate spermatogenesis in patients with isolated GH deficiency and multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies. Design: Treatment of isolated GH-deficient patients with recombinant human GH (weekly dose of 0.7 IU/kg) for 5.3 +- 0.4 (mean +- SD) years and cotreatment of multiple pituitary deficient patients with GH at the same dosage for 8.0 +- 0.4 years and hCG (2,000 IU, three times per week) and hMG (500 IU, two times per week) for 13.7 +- 1.1 months. Setting: Endocrine Pediatric Unit. Patients: Eight patients affected by isolated GH deficiency and seven by multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies. Main Outcome Measures: Serum LH, FSH, and T, testicular volume, semen volume, density, count, and motility. Results: Patients with isolated GH deficiency completed their pubertal development in 19.0 +- 3.5 months and patients with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies in 13.7 +- 1.1 months. At the end of puberty, the two groups of patients had similar testicular volume, penis size, sperm concentration, motility, and morphology, although T levels and seminal volume were lower in isolated GH-deficient patients than in multiple pituitary deficient patients. Conclusions: The two groups of patients, treated specifically for their identified hormonal deficiencies, in the end had similar satisfactory reproductive results

    PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS IN THE CENTRAL PRISON OF DOUALA, CAMEROON

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    Objective: To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in an urban prison in sub-Saharan Africa.Design: A cross-sectional survey.Setting: The Central Prison of Douala, Cameroon.Results: Two thousand four hundred and seventy four (87.4%) out of 2830 inmates underwent screening. Twenty seven (1.1%) of the inmates were under treatment for smear-positive PTB on commencement of the survey while 60 (2.4%) were diagnosed with smear and/or culture-positive PTB during the active case finding, resulting in a point prevalence of PTB of 3.5%. HIV seroprevalence in inmates without clinical signs of PTB was 111/1067 (10.4%) while it amounted to 6/24 (25%) in PTB patients. In multiple stepwise regression analysis, a low BMl, a prison stay of £12 months, and a history of previous incarceration were positively associated with PTB.Conclusion: The study results confirm the high prevalence rates of PTB in prisonpopulations and underscore the need for urgent preventive measures
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