Assessment of CT perfusion indices of the clinicoradiological response to anti-tubercular therapy in patients with intestinal tuberculosis.

AIM: To explore the possibility of using a novel technique, CT perfusion imaging, to monitor the response to anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) in patients with intestinal tuberculosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed in adults with treatment naive-intestinal tuberculosis. Clinical, endoscopic, and conventional radiological findings of patients were compared at baseline and post-ATT. CT perfusion imaging was performed with recording of six perfusion parameters (blood flow, blood volume, mean transit time, time to peak, maximum peak intensity, and permeability/blood flow extraction). RESULTS: Twenty-two patients (13 women, 59%) with a median age of 25 years were recruited. The terminal ileum and ileocaecal junction were the most frequent sites of involvement (59%), with multiple segments of the intestine being involved in 16 patients (73%). Median duration of ATT was 6 months (range 6-10 months). Complete clinical response was observed in 22/22 (100%) patients, endoscopic response in 12/12 (100%) patients, and radiological response in 10/13 (76%) patients. There was a significant decrease in mean blood flow, blood volume, maximum peak intensity, and an increase in mean transit time and time to peak on follow-up CT perfusion imaging performed after 6 months of ATT. CONCLUSION: Significant alterations in CT perfusion parameters were demonstrated following treatment, consistent with a decline in inflammation and vascularity. CT perfusion imaging of the bowel is a novel means to assess the radiological response to ATT in intestinal tuberculosis, although at the cost of a higher dose of radiation exposure.

[Prevalence of HIV-Tuberculosis co-infection and HIV impact on patients with tuberculosis in the Lubumbashi Health Zone from 2014 to 2015]. / Prévalence de la co-infection VIH-tuberculose et impact du VIH sur les tuberculeux dans la zone de santé de Lubumbashi de 2014 à 2015.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are a dangerous couple in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence of the co-infection tuberculosis/HIV/AIDS and its impact on issues of tuberculosis patients treated in Lubumbashi Heath Zone (LHZ). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective and transversal study was conducted through the analysis of tuberculosis patients' data admitted in the tuberculosis Health Centers for Diagnosis and treatment (HCDT) in the LHZ from January 2014 to December 2015. TB-HIV co-infection cases will be identified and the outcome will be analyzed. RESULTS: Data of 1368 patients were noted from three HCDT of the TB of the Lubumbashi ZS and among them 334 cases of co-infections were recorded. The most incriminated age range is 40-50 years. The mean of age of our patients is 32.84±15.32 years and the man/women sex ratio is 1.70. The most predominant clinical tuberculosis form is the extra pulmonary [EPT (52.70 %)]. Among co-infected patients, the predominant form is pulmonary (TPM-). Out of the 51 cases of deaths recorded, 23 (45.10 %) also had HIV while 28 (54.90 %) were HIV-negative. There was an increase of 11.6 % in TB-HIV/AIDS co-infection from 2014 to 2015. CONCLUSION: TB-HIV/AIDS co-infection is a reality in the LHZ, especially in patients with negative bacterial TB (TPM-) and we have to pay a particular attention on the impact of HIV on the death of tuberculosis patients.

Understanding General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) score and its threshold.

BACKGROUND: The finding of variation in the optimal threshold of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) across different settings has proved difficult to explain. This analysis aimed to examine the optimal threshold of the GHQ, its variability and relationship with prevalence of psychiatric disorder. METHODS: A cross-sectional two-phase epidemiological survey was used in a study of non-psychotic psychiatric disorder of General Practice consulters. A total of 1670 consecutive patients were screened using the GHQ-28 and the GP encounter form, and 336 were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID). The total prevalence of the psychiatric disorders was estimated using three different methods and was calculated in the rural and urban practices and among those attending the General Practitioners and Practice Nurses. RESULTS: The frequency distribution of the GHQ score for the whole sample of respondents was skewed resulting in the biased mean GHQ score. The mean values for different sample categories were found to be higher than the median values indicating that the median GHQ score may be a better parameter to describe the score distribution than the mean. The median value of the GHQ score showed a strong correlation with the prevalence estimated by the three different methods. CONCLUSIONS: The median of GHQ score gives a better estimate for the cut-off score than the mean. The median score may be used as an estimate for the optimal threshold, in settings where the sensitivity and specificity are not known or where an estimate of the prevalence from a questionnaire survey is required. Alternative methods are preferable when screening for individual cases or in the context of a two-phase design.