Drug-resistant tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients in a national referral hospital, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There are no recent data on the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR TB) in Cambodia. We aim to describe TB drug resistance amongst adults with pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection in a national referral hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. DESIGN: Between 22 November 2007 and 30 November 2009, clinical specimens from HIV-infected patients suspected of having TB underwent routine microscopy, Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, and drug susceptibility testing. Laboratory and clinical data were collected for patients with positive M. tuberculosis cultures. RESULTS: M. tuberculosis was cultured from 236 HIV-infected patients. Resistance to any first-line TB drug occurred in 34.7% of patients; 8.1% had multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). The proportion of MDR TB amongst new patients and previously treated patients was 3.7 and 28.9%, respectively (p<0.001). The diagnosis of MDR TB was made after death in 15.8% of patients; in total 26.3% of patients with MDR TB died. The diagnosis of TB was established by culture of extra-pulmonary specimens in 23.6% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant resistance to first-line TB drugs amongst new and previously treated TB-HIV co-infected patients in Phnom Penh. These data suggest that the prevalence of DR TB in Cambodia may be higher than previously recognised, particularly amongst HIV-infected patients. Additional prevalence studies are needed. This study also illustrates the feasibility and utility of analysis of non-respiratory specimens in the diagnosis of TB, even in low-resource settings, and suggests that extra-pulmonary specimens should be included in TB diagnostic algorithms.

Do children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition need antibiotics? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Current (1999) World Health Organization guidelines recommend giving routine antibiotics (AB) for all children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), even if they have uncomplicated disease with no clinically obvious infections. We examined the evidence behind this recommendation. METHODS AND FINDINGS: OVID-MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE, GLOBAL-HEALTH, CINAHL, POPLINE, AFRICA-WIDE-NiPAD, and LILACS were searched for AB efficacy, bacterial resistance, and infection rates in SAM. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed. Three randomised controlled trials (RCT), five Cochrane reviews, and 37 observational studies were identified. One cohort-study showed no increase in nutritional-cure and mortality in uncomplicated SAM where no AB were used. (p>0.05). However, an unpublished RCT in this setting did show mortality benefits. Another RCT did not show superiority of ceftriaxone over amoxicilllin for these same outcomes, but adressed SAM children with and without complications (p = 0.27). Another RCT showed no difference between amoxicillin and cotrimoxazole efficacies for pneumonia in underweight, but not SAM. Our meta-analysis of 12 pooled susceptibility-studies for all types of bacterial isolates, including 2767 stricly SAM children, favoured amoxicillin over cotrimoxazole for susceptibility medians: 42% (IQR 27-55%) vs 22% (IQR 17-23%) and population-weighted-means 52.9% (range 23-57%) vs 35.4% (range 6.7-42%). Susceptibilities to second-line AB were better, above 80%. Prevalence of serious infections in SAM, pooled from 24 studies, ranged from 17% to 35.2%. No study infered any association of infection prevalence with AB regimens in SAM. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence underlying current antibiotic recommendations for uncomplicated SAM is weak. Susceptibility-studies favour amoxicillin over cotrimoxazole. However, given that these antibiotics have side-effects, costs, and risks as well as benefits, their routine use needs urgent testing. With reliable monitoring, we believe that there is sufficient equipoise for placebo controlled RCTs, the only robust way to demonstrate true efficacy.

The impact of a short-term intervention using the WHO guidelines for the management of severe malnutrition at a rural facility in Angola.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the impact of practice review and in-service supervision based on WHO guidelines on outcomes of severely malnourished children in a rural facility with minimal resources staffed only by nurses. DESIGN: Intervention (January to August 2006) with historical comparison of outcomes (January to August 2005). SETTING: Therapeutic feeding centre in rural Angola. PATIENTS: All children admitted to the feeding centre during the study period. INTERVENTION: Médecins Du Monde implemented an intervention that consisted of weekly physician supervision of staff activities and establishment of a study group composed of nurses in the centre. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Routine practices in the centre and measured indicators for outcomes of admitted children, which were compared to indicators before the intervention. RESULTS: During the intervention the authors observed improved delivery of important tasks such as frequent feeding and avoidance of intravenous rehydration. Among the 379 children admitted during the intervention, compared to the 358 children admitted previously, successful treatment increased from 73.2% to 82.6% (RR 1.13; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.22) and fatalities decreased from 15.6% to 8.7% (RR 0.56; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.83). CONCLUSION: This short-term intervention with in-service supervision based on the WHO guidelines in a setting of limited resources apparently contributed to a reduction in fatality rates. These findings support the view that such guidelines can be effectively implemented in under-resourced facilities in Angola and similar settings if they are introduced using an interactive approach and if in-service supervision continues to be provided.