Informing a target product profile for rapid tests to identify HBV-infected pregnant women with high viral loads: a discrete choice experiment with African healthcare workers

BACKGROUND: Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) requires infant immunoprophylaxis and antiviral prophylaxis for pregnant women with high viral loads. Since real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a gold standard for assessing antiviral eligibility, is neither accessible nor affordable for women living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) detecting alternative HBV markers may be needed. To inform future development of the target product profile (TPP) for RDTs to identify highly viremic women, we used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and elicited preference and trade-off of healthcare workers (HCW) in Africa between the following four attributes of fictional RDTs: price, time-to-result, diagnostic sensitivity, and specificity. METHODS: Through an online questionnaire survey, we asked participants to indicate their preferred test from a set of two RDTs in seven choice tasks with varying levels of the four attributes. We used mixed multinomial logit models to quantify the utility gain or loss generated by each attribute. We attempted to define minimal and optimal criteria for test attributes that can satisfy ≥ 70% and ≥ 90% of HCWs, respectively, as an alternative to RT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 555 HCWs from 41 African countries participated. Increases in sensitivity and specificity generated significant utility and increases in cost and time-to-result generated significant disutility. The size of the coefficients for the highest attribute levels relative to the reference levels were in the following order: sensitivity (β = 3.749), cost (β = -2.550), specificity (β = 1.134), and time-to-result (β = -0.284). Doctors cared most about test sensitivity, while public health practitioners cared about cost and midwives about time-to-result. For an RDT with 95% specificity, costing 1 US$, and yielding results in 20 min, the minimally acceptable test sensitivity would be 82.5% and the optimally acceptable sensitivity would be 87.5%. CONCLUSIONS: African HCWs would prefer an RDT with the following order of priority: higher sensitivity, lower cost, higher specificity, and shorter time-to-result. The development and optimization of RDTs that can meet the criteria are urgently needed to scale up the prevention of HBV mother-to-child transmission in LMICs

Assessment of severity of upper digestive hemorrhage in hepatogastroenterology department of University Hospital Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Antananarivo

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is one of main digestive emergencies and remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Eighty percent of acute HD are of high origin.By this work, we document the epidemiological, clinico-biological aspects of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. This is a descriptive study of patients who presented upper gastrointestinal bleeding at Hepato-gastroenterology unit of Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Antananarivo (Madagascar) University Hospital during 5 months.During this period, 31 patients had been admitted for high gastrointestinal bleeding. The average age of patients was 49.6 years. There were more men than women. Melena was the most common manifestation (n = 21, 67.7%). Ulcerative (32.3%, n = 10).and variceal bleeding (54.8%, n = 17) were predominant.Optimal initial management of co-morbidities and haemorrhage with early endoscopic examination may improve the prognosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding

Improving communication about viral hepatitis in Africa.

International audienceAs a result of the high disease burden and advent of effective preventive and therapeutic measures for viral hepatitis, the UN has included its control in its Sustainable Development Goals, and the WHO has developed a viral hepatitis elimination strategy. Only with a genuine understanding of viral hepatitis can people living with these infections fully commit to a treatment program. New WHO guidelines on HBV/HCV testing published in Februay 2017, however, make little mention of communicating with populations about chronic viral hepatitis. Our recent anthropological research investigating local understandings of hepatitis B in five sub-Saharan African countries (The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic and Madagascar) underscore the communication challenges that treatment programmes must tackle: a lack of knowledge about hepatitis B; complex local terms describing visible symptoms of liver disease; and the inappropriate use of other pathologies to explain hepatitis B

Low-phospholipid associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome: an unusual form in an elderly and overweight woman

Abstract Background Low-phospholipid associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) remains an under-diagnosed condition. It can be revealed by complications such as acute cholecystitis, acute angiocholitis and acute pancreatitis. We report a case of acute pancreatitis secondary to LPAC syndrome. Case presentation A 58-year-old woman was hospitalized for recurrent biliary-type abdominal pain after cholecystectomies. The diagnosis of acute biliary pancreatitis revealing a low-phospholipid associated cholelithiasis syndrome was retained after explorations. An abdominal ultrasound performed by an expert radiologist allowed us to confirm the diagnosis of LPAC syndrome, showing a comet tail image along the intrahepatic bile ducts. Ursodeoxycholic acid was started without waiting for the result of the ABCB4 mutation. The outcome was spectacular with complete disappearance of the symptoms after the first week. Conclusion Expert ultrasound remains the key examination for the confirmation of the diagnosis of a low-phospholipid associated cholelithiasis syndrome. It should be requested at the slightest warning signs such as a young age less than 40 years and recurrence of biliary symptoms after cholecystectomy

Population genetic structure and isolation by distance of Helicobacter pylori in Senegal and Madagascar.

International audienceHelicobacter pylori has probably infected the human stomach since our origins and subsequently diversified in parallel with their human hosts. The genetic population history of H. pylori can therefore be used as a marker for human migration. We analysed seven housekeeping gene sequences of H. pylori strains isolated from 78 Senegalese and 24 Malagasy patients and compared them with the sequences of strains from other geographical locations. H. pylori from Senegal and Madagascar can be placed in the previously described HpAfrica1 genetic population, subpopulations hspWAfrica and hspSAfrica, respectively. These 2 subpopulations correspond to the distribution of Niger-Congo speakers in West and most of subequatorial Africa (due to Bantu migrations), respectively. H. pylori appears as a single population in Senegal, indicating a long common history between ethnicities as well as frequent local admixtures. The lack of differentiation between these isolates and an increasing genetic differentiation with geographical distance between sampling locations in Africa was evidence for genetic isolation by distance. The Austronesian expansion that started from Taiwan 5000 years ago dispersed one of the 10 subgroups of the Austronesian language family via insular Southeast Asia into the Pacific and Madagascar, and hspMaori is a marker for the entire Austronesian expansion. Strain competition and replacement of hspMaori by hpAfrica1 strains from Bantu migrants are the probable reasons for the presence of hspSAfrica strains in Malagasy of Southeast Asian descent. hpAfrica1 strains appear to be generalist strains that have the necessary genetic diversity to efficiently colonise a wide host spectrum

Splenic artery aneurysm rupture in a pregnant woman with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis: case report and literature review

Abstract Background Pregnancy is not uncommon in patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. Rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm remains a rare complication, associated with a very poor maternal–fetal prognosis. Our aim is to report a case of ruptured splenic aneurysm and to show the maternal–fetal over-risks during the association of pregnancy and portal hypertension, even in non-cirrhotic patients. Case presentation We report a case of a 34-year-old woman, pregnant at 24 weeks gestation, with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension due to hepatic schistosomiasis. She was hospitalized for variceal bleeding. Patient had undergone endoscopic variceal band ligation and no bleeding recurrence. An unexplained hypovolemic shock appeared during the hospitalization with the occurrence of an in utero fetal death. The fetus was delivered by vaginal delivery. Abdominal CT scan angiogram showed a splenic artery aneurysm rupture. The patient underwent an emergency laparotomy with ligation of the splenic artery associated with splenectomy. Postoperative course was simple. Management of portal hypertension was continued at discharge (diuretic, beta-blockers, and esophageal varices ligation). Conclusion The association of pregnancy and portal hypertension remains a serious situation with a high risk of maternal–fetal complications. Splenic artery aneurysm rupture is one of the rare complications of this association with a very poor maternal–fetal prognosis. Open repair is the surgical treatment of choice with a non-negligible morbi-mortality

Genetic isolation by distance.

<p>The genetic distance in <i>H. pylori</i> between pairs of geographical populations (<i>F</i>_ST) was plotted against the geographical distance between the two populations. 75% of the variance in <i>F</i>_ST was accounted for by geographical distance.</p

Endoscopic variceal ligation in primary and secondary prevention of variceal bleeding: a retrospective study in Digestive Endoscopy Unit, University Hospital Joseph Raseta Befelatanana, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Abstract Introduction Endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is a crucial procedure for the primary and secondary prevention of variceal bleeding. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of EVL in the prevention of variceal bleeding. Methods This was a retrospective, single-center study over 8 years, from January 2013 to December 2020, including all patients who came for EVL in primary or secondary prevention. Results Fifty-seven patients (male/female: 39/18) were included. The mean age of the patients was 40.02 ± 12.32 years (range: 19–68). Portal hypertension was secondary to cirrhosis in 13 patients (22.8%) and to a non-cirrhotic cause in 44 patients (77.2%). EVL was indicated for primary and secondary prevention in 5.3% and 94.7%, respectively. All patients had received propranolol with a mean daily dose of 108.07 ± 38.52 mg (extremes: 80–160). Eradication of varices was achieved in 33 patients (57.9%) with an average of 3.06 ± 0.70 sessions (extremes: 1–5) and an average duration of 10.12 ± 6.21 months (extremes: 1–24). Ten patients (17.5%) had variceal bleeding, and one patient (1.8%) died. There was no significant difference between patients with cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension in terms of varices eradication, variceal bleeding, and mortality. Gender (HR: 37.18; CI: 0.14–18.4; p = 0.009) and the number of previous bleeds (HR: 1.34; CI: 1.01–1.80; p = 0.041) were independent predictors of variceal bleeding during EVL. Dysphagia (73.7%) and retrosternal pain (78.9%) were the main adverse events after ligation. Conclusion EVL is an efficient technique to eradicate varices. Its tolerance is good with post-ligation signs that are rapidly regressive

Informing a target product profile for rapid tests to identify HBV-infected pregnant women with high viral loads: a discrete choice experiment with African healthcare workers

Abstract Background Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) requires infant immunoprophylaxis and antiviral prophylaxis for pregnant women with high viral loads. Since real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a gold standard for assessing antiviral eligibility, is neither accessible nor affordable for women living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) detecting alternative HBV markers may be needed. To inform future development of the target product profile (TPP) for RDTs to identify highly viremic women, we used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and elicited preference and trade-off of healthcare workers (HCW) in Africa between the following four attributes of fictional RDTs: price, time-to-result, diagnostic sensitivity, and specificity. Methods Through an online questionnaire survey, we asked participants to indicate their preferred test from a set of two RDTs in seven choice tasks with varying levels of the four attributes. We used mixed multinomial logit models to quantify the utility gain or loss generated by each attribute. We attempted to define minimal and optimal criteria for test attributes that can satisfy ≥ 70% and ≥ 90% of HCWs, respectively, as an alternative to RT-PCR. Results A total of 555 HCWs from 41 African countries participated. Increases in sensitivity and specificity generated significant utility and increases in cost and time-to-result generated significant disutility. The size of the coefficients for the highest attribute levels relative to the reference levels were in the following order: sensitivity (β = 3.749), cost (β = -2.550), specificity (β = 1.134), and time-to-result (β = -0.284). Doctors cared most about test sensitivity, while public health practitioners cared about cost and midwives about time-to-result. For an RDT with 95% specificity, costing 1 US$, and yielding results in 20 min, the minimally acceptable test sensitivity would be 82.5% and the optimally acceptable sensitivity would be 87.5%. Conclusions African HCWs would prefer an RDT with the following order of priority: higher sensitivity, lower cost, higher specificity, and shorter time-to-result. The development and optimization of RDTs that can meet the criteria are urgently needed to scale up the prevention of HBV mother-to-child transmission in LMICs