Oral mucositis and the clinical and economic outcomes of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between oral mucositis and selected clinical and economic outcomes in blood and marrow transplant patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subjects consisted of 92 transplant patients from eight centers who participated in a multinational pilot study of a new oral mucositis scoring system (Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale [OMAS]). In the pilot study, patients were evaluated for erythema and ulceration/pseudomembrane formation beginning on the first day of conditioning and continuing for 28 days. We examined the relationship between patients' peak OMAS scores and days with fever (body temperature > 38.0 degrees C), the occurrence of significant infection, days of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and days of injectable narcotic therapy (all over 28 days), days in hospital (over 60 days), total hospital charges for the index admission, and vital status at 100 days. RESULTS: Patients' peak OMAS scores spanned the full range of possible values (0 to 5) and were significantly (P <.05) correlated with all of the outcomes of interest except days with fever (P =.21). In analyses controlling for type of graft (autologous v allogeneic) and study center, a 1-point increase in peak OMAS score was associated with (1) 1.0 additional day with fever (P <.01), (2) a 2.1-fold increase in risk of significant infection (P <.01), (3) 2.7 additional days of TPN (P <.0001), (4) 2.6 additional days of injectable narcotic therapy (P <.0001), (5) 2.6 additional days in hospital (P <.01), (6) $25,405 in additional hospital charges (P <.0001), and (7) a 3.9-fold increase in 100-day mortality risk (P <.01). Mean hospital charges were $42,749 higher among patients with evidence of ulceration compared with those without (P =.06). CONCLUSION: Oral mucositis is associated with significantly worse clinical and economic outcomes in blood and marrow transplantation.

HIV infection as a risk factor for shigellosis.

We investigated cases of shigellosis in San Francisco and Alameda Counties identified during 1996 by active laboratory surveillance to assess the role of HIV infection as a risk factor for shigellosis. Dramatically elevated rates of shigellosis in HIV-infected persons implicate HIV infection as an important risk factor for shigellosis in San Francisco.

Dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis across the San Francisco Bay Area.

The propensity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotypes to spread across geographic boundaries was investigated by comparing the IS6110 and polymorphic GC-rich sequence patterns of M. tuberculosis isolates from San Francisco and the East Bay, two distinct regions separated by San Francisco Bay. Of 724 isolates from incident tuberculosis patients during 1992 and 1993, only 53 (7.3%) had patterns matching > or = 1 isolates from the other region. In the multivariable analysis of patient risk factors, an AIDS diagnosis (odds ratio [OR], 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-3.57) and non-Asian race (OR, 3.43; 95% CI, 1.59-7.42) were associated with having an isolate with a matching pattern. Of 375 unique IS6110 patterns among San Francisco isolates, only 9 (2.4%) matched patterns of East Bay isolates. These population-based data suggest that in the San Francisco Bay Area, M. tuberculosis does not rapidly spread across geographic boundaries, and tuberculosis control efforts should focus on transmission within defined areas.

Multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The national and international emergence of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis has complicated both the programmatic control of the tuberculosis epidemic and the clinical management of individual cases. In the United States, the problem of MDR tuberculosis is regionalized and likely stems from multifactorial causes, including the concurrent HIV epidemic. The epidemic is propagated by two distinct entities, PDR and ADR tuberculosis, which result from different inadequacies in tuberculosis control programs. The clinical management of drug-resistant tuberculosis, MDR tuberculosis in particular, is complex, frequently results in adverse outcomes, and often necessitates consultation with a specialist in the field. Two important management principles are to always use at least two agents to which the organism is susceptible and to never add a single drug to a failing regimen. Selection of an appropriate treatment regimen and determination of the duration of therapy depend on the resistance pattern, toxicities of the drugs, and the patient's response to therapy. Measures to ensure patient adherence with therapy are of paramount importance in the setting of drug resistance. Preventive therapy should be considered in the management of close contacts to active cases of MDR tuberculosis, although there is little evidence to support this practice.

The changing epidemiology of acquired drug-resistant tuberculosis in San Francisco, USA.

BACKGROUND: The increasing incidence of tuberculosis caused by drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis is thought in part to reflect inadequate implementation of standard tuberculosis control measures. However, in San Francisco, USA, which has an effective tuberculosis control programme, we have recently observed an increase in cases of acquired drug-resistance. METHODS: To explore further this observation, we analysed the secular trend of acquired drug-resistance and conducted a population-based case-control study of all reported tuberculosis cases in the city of San Francisco between 1985 and 1994. FINDINGS: We identified 14 patients with tuberculosis caused by fully susceptible M tuberculosis who subsequently developed drug-resistance. Of these acquired drug-resistance cases, two occurred between 1985 and 1989, whereas 12 occurred between 1990 and 1994 (p = 0.028). In the case-control study, AIDS (odds ratio 20.2, 95% CI 1.12-363.6), non-compliance with therapy (19.7, 1.66-234.4), and gastrointestinal symptoms (11.5, 1.23-107.0) were independently associated with acquired drug-resistance. Between 1990 and 1994, one in 16 tuberculosis patients with AIDS and either gastrointestinal symptoms or non-compliance developed acquired drug- resistance. INTERPRETATION: The substantial increase in acquired drug- resistance in San Francisco seems to be a product of the increasing prevalence of HIV/M tuberculosis coinfection. Our data suggest that the interface of the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics fosters acquired drug-resistance, and that traditional tuberculosis control measures may not be sufficient in communities with high rates of HIV infection.

A computer-assisted molecular epidemiologic approach to confronting the reemergence of tuberculosis.

Molecular epidemiologic approaches have provided important insights into the pathogenesis and epidemiology of tuberculosis. However, continued progress in this field will be reliant on the development of computerized information management systems capable of analyzing large numbers of bacterial DNA fingerprints and incorporating this with data collected as part of conventional disease surveillance. The specific attributes of these computer systems must be tailored to the nature and scope of the research question. In this article, the authors describe a system being used for the surveillance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in San Francisco. The current performance characteristics are described, and potential future developmental directions are outlined. This system demonstrates several general principles of computerized molecular epidemiology that are likely to be of increasing applicability to a variety of pathogens.