A critical analysis of the decreasing trends in tuberculosis cure indicators in Brazil, 2001-2022.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the temporal trend of tuberculosis cure indicators in Brazil. METHODS: An ecological time-series study using administrative data of reported cases of the disease nationwide between 2001 and 2022. We estimated cure indicators for each federative unit (FU) considering individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis-HIV coinfection, and those in tuberculosis retreatment. We used regression models using joinpoint regression for trend analysis, reporting the annual percentage change and the average annual percentage change. RESULTS: For the three groups analyzed, we observed heterogeneity in the annual percentage change in the Brazilian FUs, with a predominance of significantly decreasing trends in the cure indicator in most FUs, especially at the end of the time series. When considering national indicators, an average annual percentage change of -0.97% (95% CI: -1.23 to -0.74) was identified for the cure of people with pulmonary tuberculosis, of -1.11% (95% CI: -1.42 to -0.85) for the cure of people with tuberculosis-HIV coinfection, and of -1.44% (95% CI: -1.62 to -1.31) for the cure of people in tuberculosis retreatment. CONCLUSIONS: The decreasing trends of cure indicators in Brazil are concerning and underscore a warning to public authorities, as it points to the possible occurrence of other treatment outcomes, such as treatment discontinuity and death. This finding contradicts current public health care policies and requires urgent strategies aiming to promote follow-up of patients during tuberculosis treatment in Brazil.

A critical analysis of the decreasing trends in tuberculosis cure indicators in Brazil, 2001-2022

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the temporal trend of tuberculosis cure indicators in Brazil. Methods: An ecological time-series study using administrative data of reported cases of the disease nationwide between 2001 and 2022. We estimated cure indicators for each federative unit (FU) considering individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis-HIV coinfection, and those in tuberculosis retreatment. We used regression models using joinpoint regression for trend analysis, reporting the annual percentage change and the average annual percentage change. Results: For the three groups analyzed, we observed heterogeneity in the annual percentage change in the Brazilian FUs, with a predominance of significantly decreasing trends in the cure indicator in most FUs, especially at the end of the time series. When considering national indicators, an average annual percentage change of −0.97% (95% CI: −1.23 to −0.74) was identified for the cure of people with pulmonary tuberculosis, of −1.11% (95% CI: −1.42 to −0.85) for the cure of people with tuberculosis-HIV coinfection, and of −1.44% (95% CI: −1.62 to −1.31) for the cure of people in tuberculosis retreatment. Conclusions: The decreasing trends of cure indicators in Brazil are concerning and underscore a warning to public authorities, as it points to the possible occurrence of other treatment outcomes, such as treatment discontinuity and death. This finding contradicts current public health care policies and requires urgent strategies aiming to promote follow-up of patients during tuberculosis treatment in Brazil.

Análise comparativa do conhecimento de estudantes de enfermagem sobre hiv/aids e sífilis / Análisis comparativo del conocimiento de los estudiantes de enfermería sobre el vih/sida y la sífilis / Comparative analysis of the knowledge of nursing students on hiv/aids and syphilis

Objetivo: analisar o conhecimento de estudantes de enfermagem de diferentes séries da graduação em relação ao HIV/aids e sífilis. Método: pesquisa descritivo-exploratória, desenvolvida com 65 acadêmicos de enfermagem de uma universidade do Sul do Brasil. Os dados foram coletados por instrumento adaptado da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Aplicou-se teste de Kruskal-Wallis e da diferença mínima significativa de Fisher para a comparação. Resultados: houve diferença significativa do conhecimento entre as séries em aspectos específicos das infecções, como: janela imunológica do HIV, fisiopatologia da aids, modo de transmissão da sífilis, método indetectável = intransmissível do HIV e caracterização das fases da sífilis. Conclusão: a aquisição de saberes sobre HIV/aids e sífilis entre estudantes de enfermagem tende a evoluir ao longo da graduação, visto que as últimas séries apresentaram melhores escores. Todavia, o conhecimento prévio dos estudantes das séries iniciais ficou evidente e, por vezes, não se inferiorizou em relação às demais.

Objetivo: analizar el conocimiento de los estudiantes de enfermería de diferentes grados de pregrado en relación con el VIH/SIDA y la sífilis. Método: investigación descriptiva-exploratoria, desarrollada con 65 estudiantes de enfermería de una universidad del sur de Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados por un instrumento adaptado de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Se aplicó la prueba de Kruskal-Wallis y la diferencia mínima significativa del pescador para la comparación. Resultados: hubo una diferencia significativa en el conocimiento entre las series en aspectos específicos de las infecciones, tales como: ventana inmunológica del VIH, fisiopatología del sida, modo de transmisión de la sífilis, método indetectable = intransferible del VIH y caracterización de las fases de sífilis. Conclusión: la adquisición de conocimientos sobre VIH/SIDA y sífilis entre los estudiantes de enfermería tiende a evolucionar a lo largo de la graduación, ya que los últimos grados presentaron mejores puntajes. Sin embargo, el conocimiento previo de los alumnos de las notas iniciales era evidente y, en ocasiones, no era inferior en relación a los demás.

Objective: to analyze the knowledge of nursing students from different undergraduate grades in relation to HIV/AIDS and syphilis. Method: descriptive-exploratory research, developed with 65 nursing students from a university in southern Brazil. Data were collected by an instrument adapted from the World Health Organization. Kruskal-Wallis test and fisher significant minimum difference was applied for comparison. Results: there was a significant difference in knowledge between the series in specific aspects of infections, such as: HIV immunological window, aids pathophysiology, mode of transmission of syphilis, undetectable method = non-transferable of HIV and characterization of syphilis phases. Conclusion: the acquisition of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and syphilis among nursing students tends to evolve throughout graduation, since the last grades presented better scores. However, the previous knowledge of the students of the initial grades was evident and, at times, it was not inferior in relation to the other ones.