HIV-infected presumptive tuberculosis patients without tuberculosis: How many are eligible for antiretroviral therapy in Karnataka, India?

For certain subgroups within people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [active tuberculosis (TB), pregnant women, children <5years old, and serodiscordant couples], the World Health Organization recommends antiretroviral therapy (ART) irrespective of CD4 count. Another subgroup which has received increased attention is "HIV-infected presumptive TB patients without TB". In this study, we assess the proportion of HIV-infected presumptive TB patients eligible for ART in Karnataka State (population 60million), India. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data of HIV-infected presumptive TB patients diagnosed in May 2015 abstracted from national TB and HIV program records. Of 42,585 presumptive TB patients, 28,964 (68%) were tested for HIV and 2262 (8%) were HIV positive. Of the latter, 377 (17%) had active TB. Of 1885 "presumptive TB patients without active TB", 1100 (58%) were already receiving ART. Of the remaining 785 who were not receiving ART, 617 (79%) were assessed for ART eligibility and of those, 548 (89%) were eligible for ART. About 90% of "HIV-infected presumptive TB patients without TB" were eligible for ART. This evidence supports a public health approach of starting all "HIV-infected presumptive TB patients without TB" on ART irrespective of CD4 count in line with global thinking about 'test and treat'

“Who has to do it at the end of the day? Programme officials or hospital authorities?” Airborne infection control at drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) centres of Karnataka, India: a mixed-methods study

Abstract Background Drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) centers admit patients with DR-TB for initiation of treatment and thereby concentrate the patients under one setting. It becomes imperative to assess the compliance of DR-TB centres to national airborne infection control (AIC) guidelines and explore the provider perspectives into reasons for unsatisfactory compliance. Methods This mixed methods study (triangulation design) was carried out across all the six DR-TB centers of Karnataka state, India, between November 2016 and April 2017. Non-participant observation using a structured format was carried out at the DR-TB wards (n = 6), outpatient departments (n = 6), patient waiting areas outside outpatient departments (n = 6) and culture and drug susceptibility testing laboratories (n = 3). Structured interviews of admitted patients (n = 30) were done to assess the knowledge on cough hygiene and sputum disposal. Key informant interviews (KIIs) of health care providers (n = 20) were done. Manual descriptive content analysis was done to analyse the transcripts of KIIs. Results The findings related to compliance in non-participant observation were corroborated by KIIs. All the laboratories were consistently implementing the AIC guidelines. Compliance to hand hygiene, wet mopping and ventilation measures were satisfactory in four or more DR-TB wards. The non-availability of N95 masks in wards as well as outpatient departments was staggering. Sputum disposal without prior disinfection and the lack of display materials on cough hygiene and patient education was common. Patient fast tracking in outpatient department waiting areas and visitor restrictions in wards were lacking. Trainings on AIC measures were uncommon. About half and one-third of patients admitted had satisfactory knowledge regarding sputum disposal and situations demanding mask respectively. The reasons for unsatisfactory compliance to AIC guidelines were poor coordination between programme and hospital authorities leading to lack of ownership; ineffective or non-existent infection control committees; vacant posts of medical officers; and attitudes of health care delivery staff. Conclusion Compliance with AIC guidelines in DR-TB centers of Karnataka was sub-optimal. The reasons identified require urgent attention of the programme managers and hospital authorities

Additional file 1: of “Who has to do it at the end of the day? Programme officials or hospital authorities?” Airborne infection control at drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) centres of Karnataka, India: a mixed-methods study

Annex S1. Operational definitions used for assessing compliance of DR-TB centers towards AIC measures in Karnataka, India, 2016-17. Annex S2. Operational definitions used to assess Knowledge about Cough Hygiene and Sputum Disposal of the patients admitted in DR-TB wards of DR-TB centers, Karnataka, India, 2016-17. Annex S3. Interview guides used for key informant interviews at Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) centres of Karnataka, India, 2016-17. (DOCX 25 kb

Averting catastrophic tuberculosis costs in an Indian state: integration of Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka with National Tuberculosis Elimination Program

Summary: The WHO's “End TB” initiative aims to reduce catastrophic expenses, incidence, and mortality by 90%, 80%, and 0%, respectively by 2030 and Government of India has committed to reaching these goals by 2025. Despite tremendous progress, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the main public health issues. To limit TB transmission and expedite reduction in incidence, further measures are needed. These milestones and objectives remain aspirational until we achieve “Universal access” to high-quality TB diagnosis and treatment. The goals of the study include outlining the process of ‘Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Arogya Karnataka’ (AB-PMJAY-ArK) integration with the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) in Karnataka, the types of TB patients who used AB-PMJAY-ArK services, and calculating the cost per TB patient at primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities, both public and private, stratified by type of service. Increased coverage, elimination of treatment delays, early and free treatment, and prevention of missing patients are benefits of integrating NTEP with Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY

Self-driven solutions and resilience adapted by people with drug-resistant tuberculosis and their caregivers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India: a qualitative studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: One-fifth of people with drug-resistance tuberculosis (DR-TB) who were initiated on newer shorter treatment regimen (with injection) had unfavourable treatment outcomes in India as on 2020. Evidence on self-driven solutions and resilience adapted by people with DR-TB (PwDR-TB) towards their multi-dimensional disease and treatment challenges are scarce globally, which we aimed to understand. Methods: In this qualitative study using positive deviance framework, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews among consenting adult PwDR-TB (7 women, 13 men) who completed shorter treatment regimen (including injections) with maximum treatment adherence. The study was conducted in the southern districts of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India between June 2020 and December 2022. Caregivers (14 women, 6 men) and health providers (8 men, 2 women) of PwDR-TB were also interviewed. Interviews were conducted in local language (Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Hindi) and inquired about practices, behaviours, experiences, perceptions and attributes which enabled maximum adherence and resilience of PwDR-TB. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and translated to English and coded for thematic analysis using inductive approach. Findings: Distinctive themes explanatory of the self-driven solutions and resilience exhibited by PwDR-TB and their caregivers were identified: (i) Self-adaptation towards the biological consequences of drugs, by personalised nutritional and adjuvant practices, which helped to improve drug ingestion and therapeutic effects. Also home remedies and self-plans for ameliorating injection pain. (ii) Perceptual adaptation towards drugs aversion and fatigue, by their mind diversion practices, routinisation and normalisation of drug intake process. and constant reinforcement and re-interpretation of bodily signs of disease recovery (iii) Family caregivers intense and participatory care for PwDR-TB, by aiding their essential life activities and ensuring survival, learning and fulfilling special nutritional needs and goal oriented actions to aid drug intake (iv) Health care providers care, marked by swift and timely risk mitigation of side-effects and crisis response (v) Acquired self-efficacy of PwDR-TB, by their decisive family concerns resulting in attitudinal change. Also being sensitised on the detrimental consequences of disease and being motivated through positive examples. Interpretation: Synthesised findings on self-driven solutions and resilience towards the multi–dimensional DR-TB challenges provides opportunity for developing and testing new interventions for its effectiveness in DR-TB care settings globally. Designing and testing personalised cognitive interventions for PwDR-TB: to inculcate attitudinal change and self-efficacy towards medication, developing cognitive reinforcements to address the perception burden of treatment, skill building and mainstreaming the role of family caregivers as therapeutic partners of PwDR-TB, curating self-adaptive behaviours and practices of PwDR-TB to normalise their drug consumptions experiences could be the way forward in building resilience towards DR-TB. Funding: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT), Bengaluru, India