ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease, still endemic in many countries that may lead to neurological, ophthalmic, and motor sequelae if not treated early. Access to timely diagnosis and multidrug therapy (MDT) remains a crucial element in the World Health Organization's strategy to eliminate the disease as a public health problem. OBJECTIVES This systematic review aims to evaluate the accuracy of rapid point-of-care (POC) tests for diagnosis of leprosy. METHODS Searches were carried out in electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CRD, Cochrane Library and LILACS) in April 2021 for patients with suspicion or confirmatory diagnostic of leprosy, classified in multibacillary (MB) or paucibacillary (PB) cases, performing rapid POC serological tests compared to clinical evaluation, smear microscopy and immunohistochemistry analysis. Methodological quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool (QUADAS-2). A meta-analysis was undertaken to generate pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters, presenting sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) values. The review protocol was registered at PROSPERO, CRD # 42014009658. FINDINGS From 893 potentially relevant references, 12 articles were included reporting 16 diagnostic tests accuracy studies with 5395 individuals enrolled. Meta-analysis of NDO-LID and PGL-I tests data in MB patients showed sensitivity and specificity [95% confidence interval (CI)] of 0.83 (0.71-0.91), 0.91 (0.72-0.97); and 0.92 (0.86-0.96), 0.93 (0.78-0.98); respectively, with high heterogeneity among the studies. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our results can inform policymakers regarding the possibility of implementing accurate, rapid POC tests for leprosy in public health services, especially within primary health care.
ABSTRACT
This article analyzes the Shared Pharmaceutical Management Program (PACFARM) and its relationship to pharmaceutical policy in Peru within the scope of health sector reform. Implementation of various programs for essential medicines has involved an on-going effort towards improving the supply of essential drugs to the community. However, the corresponding legal framework includes random and disconnected regulations which hinder the feasibility of a consistent national drug policy. PACFARM is a decentralized system for the provision of essential medicines on a care-level basis, self-supported by revolving funds. While expanded coverage and decreased economic barriers to access to essential medicines provided the basis for a pharmaceutical policy and traits of supply management efficiency kept pace with administrative modernization as part of the reform, other aspects hindered the program's implementation and limited its effects, including deregulation and the very processes of change in the sector. The study's methodology included qualitative and quantitative techniques, prioritizing an analysis of the program's implementation.