Evaluation of community-based systems for the surveillance of day three-positive Plasmodium falciparum cases in Western Cambodia.

BACKGROUND: Delayed clearance of Plasmodium falciparum parasites is used as an operational indicator of potential artemisinin resistance. Effective community-based systems to detect P. falciparum cases remaining positive 72 hours after initiating treatment would be valuable for guiding case follow-up in areas of known resistance risk and for detecting areas of emerging resistance. METHODS: Systems incorporating existing networks of village malaria workers (VMWs) to monitor day three-positive P. falciparum cases were piloted in three provinces in western Cambodia. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to evaluate the wider feasibility and sustainability of community-based surveillance of day three-positive P. falciparum cases. RESULTS: Of 294 day-3 blood slides obtained across all sites (from 297 day-0 positives), 63 were positive for P. falciparum, an overall day-3 positivity rate of 21%. There were significant variations in the systems implemented by different partners. Full engagement of VMWs and health centre staff is critical. VMWs are responsible for a range of individual tasks including preparing blood slides on day-0, completing forms, administering directly observed therapy (DOT) on days 0-2, obtaining follow-up slides on day-3 and transporting slides and paperwork to their supervising health centre. When suitably motivated, unsalaried VMWs are willing and able to produce good quality blood smears and achieve very high rates of DOT and day-3 follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based surveillance of day-3 P. falciparum cases is feasible, but highly intensive, and as such needs strong and continuous support, particularly supervision and training. The purpose and role of community-based day-3 surveillance should be assessed in the light of resource requirements; scaling-up would need to be systematic and targeted, based on clearly defined epidemiological criteria. To be truly comprehensive, the system would need to be extended beyond VMWs to other public and private health providers

History of malaria treatment as a predictor of subsequent subclinical parasitaemia: A cross-sectional survey and malaria case records from three villages in Pailin, western Cambodia

Background: Treatment of the sub-clinical reservoir of malaria, which may maintain transmission, could be an important component of elimination strategies. The reliable detection of asymptomatic infections with low levels of parasitaemia requires high-volume quantitative polymerase chain reaction (uPCR), which is impractical to conduct on a large scale. It is unknown to what extent sub-clinical parasitaemias originate from recent or older clinical episodes. This study explored the association between clinical history of malaria and subsequent sub-clinical parasitaemia. Methods: In June 2013 a cross-sectional survey was conducted in three villages in Pailin, western Cambodia. Demographic and epidemiological data and blood samples were collected. Blood was tested for malaria by high-volume qP

Examining the quality of childhood tuberculosis diagnosis in Cambodia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Cambodia is one of the 22 countries with the highest TB burden. While childhood TB is estimated to make up 10–20% of total TB cases in high-burden settings, this proportion ranges from 1.3 to 39.4% throughout Cambodia’s provinces, suggesting potential under- and over-diagnosis of childhood TB, subnationally. The proportion of case notifications classified as extrapulmonary TB out of total TB case notifications in children is 87%, greatly exceeding the expected global range of 20–30%. There is a gap in the literature on how childhood TB is diagnosed in resource-poor settings, and the quality of diagnoses. The study’s aim is to quantitatively assess the quality of clinician performance and availability of diagnostic tools, for diagnosing childhood TB in high-burden Operational Districts in Cambodia. Methods Between August and September of 2015, a cross-sectional study was conducted at referral hospitals and villages in 24 high-burden Operational Districts. 40 clinicians, and 104 parents whose child was recently diagnosed with TB were interviewed. Questionnaires assessed availability of diagnostic tools, and clinician knowledge and practice during a clinical examination. Descriptive statistics were calculated to provide cross-sectional data. Results Availability of advanced diagnostic tools was low. Only 27.5% of clinicians had Xpert machines available at their facility, and 5% had equipment to perform gastric aspiration. 77.5% of clinicians reported that they had a chest X-ray at their facility, but only 34.6% of parents reported that the clinician conducted a chest X-ray. 72.5% of clinicians could name 5 out of 7 main TB screening criteria; however, parent data suggests that clinicians may not be applying knowledge to practice. The mean number of examinations/tests the clinician conducted during the clinical assessment of the child was 1.64. Of the parents whose child had an enlarged lymph node, 60.22% described lymph node characteristics that were not suggestive of TB. Conclusion Limited availability of diagnostic tools and suboptimal clinician performance highlight where resources should be allocated to improve quality of diagnoses. Further research needs to be done in low burden Operational Districts to determine the capacity of clinicians and health facilities for diagnosing childhood TB, where cases are likely being missed

Sexual Behavior and History.

<p>Sexual Behavior and History.</p

Logistic Regression Analysis of factors associated with HIV infection among study participants.

<p>Logistic Regression Analysis of factors associated with HIV infection among study participants.</p

Socio-Demographic Characteristics.

<p>Socio-Demographic Characteristics.</p

UPLC-MS as a new trend in separation techniques-application in analysis of biologically active substances

TITLE: UPLC-MS as a new trend in separation processes - application in analysis of biological active substances SUMMARY: Neopterin, a pterine derivate, is produced by human monocytes/macrophages stimulated by interferon gama. Neopterin represents an important parameter for the monitoring of the immune system activation that accompanies different diseases. In several scientific studies the coherency between neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin and intracelular oxidative stress and apoptosis of the cells was demonstrated. The value of neopterin or other substances from pterin's group in clinical practice are expressed as the ratio of neopterin / creatinin. This diploma work was dealing with the development of an analytical method for the identification and quantitation of biological active substances neopterin, biopterin, 7,8-dihroneopterin, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroneopterin and creatinin by utltra-performance liquid chromatography connected to the mass spectrometry triple of quadrupole type. Analytical method for the determination of biological active substances neopterin, biopterin, 7,8-dihroneopterin, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroneopterin and creatinin by UPLC has been developed. KEYWORDS: Neopterin, 7,8-dihydroneopterin, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroneopterinu, biopterin, creatinin, UPLC, mass spectrometry, triple quadrupol