Impact of TB on the survival of people living with HIV infection in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Incidence rate of mortality and its predictors among tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus coinfected patients on antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among HIV-infected adults and children globally. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the pooled mortality rate and its predictors among TB/HIV-coinfected patients in Ethiopia.

Methods

Extensive database searching was done via PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Google from the time of idea conception on March 1, 2023, to the last search via Google on March 31, 2023. A meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model to determine the pooled mortality rate and its predictors among TB/HIV-coinfected patients. Heterogeneity was handled using subgroup analysis, meta-regression, and sensitivity analysis.

Results

Out of 2,100 records, 18 articles were included, with 26,291 total patients. The pooled incidence rate of mortality among TB/HIV patients was 12.49 (95% CI: 9.24-15.74) per 100 person-years observation (PYO); I2 = 96.9%. The mortality rate among children and adults was 5.10 per 100 PYO (95% CI: 2.15-8.01; I2 = 84.6%) and 15.78 per 100 PYO (95% CI: 10.84-20.73; I2 = 97.7%), respectively. Age ≥ 45 (pooled hazard ratios (PHR) 2.58, 95% CI: 2.00- 3.31), unemployed (PHR 2.17, 95% CI: 1.37-3.46), not HIV-disclosed (PHR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.65-4.70), bedridden (PHR 5.89, 95% CI: 3.43-10.12), OI (PHR 3.5, 95% CI: 2.16-5.66), WHO stage IV (PHR 3.16, 95% CI: 2.18-4.58), BMI < 18.5 (PHR 4.11, 95% CI: 2.28-7.40), anemia (PHR 4.43, 95% CI: 2.73-7.18), EPTB 5.78, 95% CI: 2.61-12.78 significantly affected the mortality. The effect of TB on mortality was 1.95 times higher (PHR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.19-3.20; I2 = 0) than in TB-free individuals.

Conclusions

The mortality rate among TB/HIV-coinfected patients in Ethiopia was higher compared with many African countries. Many clinical factors were identified as significant risk factors for mortality. Therefore, TB/HIV program managers and clinicians need to design an intervention early.

Active tuberculosis incidence among treatment failure experienced patients in North Wollow Zone: A multicenter historical cohort

Background

In Ethiopia, tuberculosis (TB) is a significant cause of death among individuals living with HIV, especially in resource-limited areas and those who have experienced treatment failure. However, there is the paucity of data regarding TB among treatment failures experienced people living with HIV. This study aimed to estimate the rate and identify predictors of tuberculosis among patients who received second-line treatment in North Wollo, Northeast Ethiopia.

Methods

A retrospective follow-up study was conducted on 474 HIV-infected patients who experienced treatment failure. The study period ranged from January 2015 to September 30, 2021. The incidence of TB was assessed using a Cox proportional hazard regression model, after ensuring that all assumptions were met. Factors associated with active TB were determined by analyzing adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

In a study of 474 HIV-positive patients on second-line antiretroviral treatment, we found an incidence rate of 3.6% with 17 new cases of TB observed over 4412.4 persons per year (PPY). The overall incidence density rate was estimated to be 0.39 cases per 100 PPY (95% CI: 0.239-0.618). Regarding the occurrence of active TB in second-line patients, WHO clinical treatment stage (T3 and T4), missed isoniazid preventive therapy had a significantly higher risk (AHR: 13.225, 95% CI: 2.894-60.434, p = 0.001), while being married was associated with a lower risk (AHR: 0.203, 95% CI: 0.045-0.907, p = 0.001).

Conclusion

A high incidence of active TB was observed shortly after initiating second-line antiretroviral treatment. Factors such as being in the WHO clinical treatment stage (T3 and T4) and marital status were determinants for active TB. To improve overall survival rates, it is vital to enhance early TB screening and implement effective isoniazid preventive therapy.

Factors associated with mortality in HIV-TB co-infected patients during and after the course of TB treatment in high-burden settings, Mumbai, India: A cohort analysis

BACKGROUND

Knowledge of factors associated with TB mortality during treatment and post treatment will help us develop better monitoring and implementation strategies for TB control. We designed the present study to examine the factors associated with mortality in HIV-TB co-infected patients during and after the course of TB treatment.

METHODS

This study is a cohort analysis of secondary data collected from 1804 HIV-TB co-infected individuals from 16 anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres affiliated with the Mumbai Districts AIDS Control Society, Mumbai, India. We used Kaplan Meier survival curves and hazard ratios to estimate the mortality in patients.

RESULTS

The overall mortality rate in this cohort was 1.14 per 100 per month. The mortality proportion was 18% (95% CI: 16.1%, 20.1%) during treatment and 10.6% (95% CI: 8.9%, 12.5%) in the post-treatment period. Mortality was significantly higher in those with a CD4 count 0-200 cells/mm3 (HR: 3.04, 95% CI: 2.13, 4.15; p < 0.001), and in patients who were ART naïve and referred to the ART centre with a diagnosis of TB (HR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.82; p = 0.016). Mortality was also significantly higher in the first 6 months after initiation of ART (HR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.75; p = 0.016). A decrease in the CD4 counts from initial levels at start of TB treatment to end of TB treatment was associated with higher mortality in the post-treatment period.

DISCUSSION

The overall mortality remains high; early identification of TB and HIV disease, and use of rapid point of care tests for diagnosis of TB are needed across all health care facilities. Post-treatment follow-up and monitoring is important in HIV-TB co-infected patients, and post-treatment mortality should also be considered as one of the indicators for successful TB control programmes.

Survival and predictors of mortality after completion of TB treatment among people living with HIV: a 5-year analytical cohort

BACKGROUND

After completion of TB treatment patients may remain at risk of co-morbidity and mortality. We determined the survival and predictors of all-cause mortality after completing TB treatment among ART-experienced patients.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort analysis of all ART experienced patients who completed TB treatment at a specialist HIV clinic in Uganda, between 2009 and 2014. The patients were followed for five years after TB treatment. We determined the cumulative probability of death, and predictors of mortality using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazard models, respectively.

RESULTS

A total 1,287 patients completed TB treatment between 2009 and 2014, of which 1,111 were included in the analysis. At TB treatment completion, the median age was 36 years (IQR: 31-42), 563 (50.7%) were males, and median CD4 cell count was 235 cells/mL (IQR: 139-366). The person-time at risk was 4410.60 person-years. The all-cause mortality rate was 15.42 (95% CI: 12.14-19.59) per 1000 person-years. The probability of death at five years was 6.9% (95%CI: 5.5- 8.8). In the multivariable analysis, CD4 count < 200 cells/mL was a predictor of all-cause mortality (aHR = 1.81, 95%CI:1.06-3.11, p = 0.03) alongside history of retreatment (aHR = 2.12, 95%CI: 1.16-3.85, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Survival post TB treatment in ART experienced PLHIV is reasonably good. Most deaths occur within two years after TB treatment completion. Patients with a low CD4 count and those with a history of retreatment have an increased risk of mortality which underscores the need for TB prophylaxis, detailed assessment, and close monitoring after completion of TB treatment.

Atypical Pulmonary Tuberculosis as the First Manifestation of Advanced HIV Disease—Diagnostic Difficulties

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of morbidity, hospitalisations, and mortality in people living with HIV (PLWH). The lower CD4+ T-lymphocyte count in the course of HIV infection, the higher risk of active TB, and the higher odds for atypical clinical and radiologic TB presentation. These HIV-related alterations in TB presentation may cause diagnostic problems in patients not knowing they are infected with HIV. We report on a patient without any background medical conditions, who was referred to a hospital with a 4-month history of chest and feet pains, mild dry cough, fatigue, reduced appetite, and decreasing body weight. Chest X-ray revealed mediastinal lymphadenopathy, bilateral reticulonodular parenchymal opacities, and pleural effusion. A preliminary diagnosis of lymphoma, possibly with a superimposed infection was established. Further differential diagnostic process revealed pulmonary TB in the course of advanced HIV-1 disease, with a CD4+ T-lymphocyte count of 107 cells/mm3. The patient completed anti-tuberculous therapy and successfully continues on antiretroviral treatment. This case underlines the importance of screening for HIV in patients with newly diagnosed TB.

Latent tuberculosis screening and treatment in HIV: highly acceptable in a prospective cohort study

Background

People living with HIV (PLWH) are at increased risk of re-activation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Although UK and international guidelines identify this group as a priority for LTBI screening and treatment, data on attitudes of PLWH to this policy recommendation are lacking.

Methods

A five-point, Likert-style questionnaire was administered to PLWH to assess views and intentions towards accepting LTBI screening and treatment. Subsequent interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) testing was offered, and chemoprophylaxis if required. Influencing demographic and psychological associations with planned, and actual, testing and treatment uptake were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

444 out of 716 (62%) patients responded. 417 out of 437 (95.4%) expressed intention to accept LTBI testing. The only significant association was the perceived importance of testing to the individual (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 8.98, 95% CI 2.55–31.67). 390 out of 393 (99.2%) accepted appropriate IGRA screening; 41 out of 390 (10.5%) were positive. 397 out of 431 (92.1%) expressed intention to accept chemoprophylaxis, associated with perceived importance of treatment (aOR 3.52, 95% CI 1.46–8.51), a desire to have treatment for LTBI (aOR 1.77, 95% CI 0.99–3.15) and confidence in taking treatment (aOR 3.77, 95% CI 1.84–7.72). Of those offered chemoprophylaxis, 36 out of 37 (97.3%) accepted and 34 out of 36 (94.4%) completed treatment. There were no correlates with actual screening acceptance.

Conclusions

LTBI is common amongst PLWH, highlighting the importance of robust screening and treatment programmes. This study shows that screening and treatment for LTBI is highly acceptable to PLWH and provides strong, objective evidence for policy-makers developing guidelines in this cohort.

This detailed exploration of the views of people living with HIV in the UK through a prospective questionnaire cohort study is the first of its kind in the published literature, and shows that latent TB screening and treatment is overwhelmingly supportedhttps://bit.ly/3HmhmRy

Addressing TB-related mortality in adults living with HIV: a review of the challenges and potential solutions

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in people living with HIV (PLHIV) globally, causing 208,000 deaths in PLHIV in 2019. PLHIV have an 18-fold higher risk of TB, and HIV/TB mortality is highest in inpatient facilities, compared with primary care and community settings. Here we discuss challenges and potential mitigating solutions to address TB-related mortality in adults with HIV. Key factors that affect healthcare engagement are stigma, knowledge, and socioeconomic constraints, which are compounded in people with HIV/TB co-infection. Innovative approaches to improve healthcare engagement include optimizing HIV/TB care integration and interventions to reduce stigma. While early diagnosis of both HIV and TB can reduce mortality, barriers to early diagnosis of TB in PLHIV include difficulty producing sputum specimens, lower sensitivity of TB diagnostic tests in PLHIV, and higher rates of extra pulmonary TB. There is an urgent need to develop higher sensitivity biomarker-based tests that can be used for point-of-care diagnosis. Nonetheless, the implementation and scale-up of existing tests including molecular World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended diagnostic tests and urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) should be optimized along with expanded TB screening with tools such as C-reactive protein and digital chest radiography. Decreased survival of PLHIV with TB disease is more likely with late HIV diagnosis and delayed start of antiretroviral (ART) treatment. The WHO now recommends starting ART within 2 weeks of initiating TB treatment in the majority of PLHIV, aside from those with TB meningitis. Dedicated TB treatment trials focused on PLHIV are needed, including interventions to improve TB meningitis outcomes given its high mortality, such as the use of intensified regimens using high-dose rifampin, new and repurposed drugs such as linezolid, and immunomodulatory therapy. Ultimately holistic, high-quality, person-centered care is needed for PLHIV with TB throughout the cascade of care, which should address biomedical, socioeconomic, and psychological barriers.

Tuberculosis incidence in country of origin is a key determinant of the risk of active tuberculosis in people living with HIV: Data from a 30-year observational cohort study

INTRODUCTION

People living with HIV (PLWH) are at high risk of active tuberculosis (TB) but this risk in the era of antiretroviral treatment (ART) remains unclear. It is critical to identify the groups who should be prioritised for latent TB (LTBI) screening. In this study we identified the risk factors associated with developing incident TB disease, by analysing a 30-year observational cohort.

METHODS

We evaluated PLWH in Leicester, UK, between 1983 and 2017 to ascertain those who developed active TB and the timing of this in relation to HIV diagnosis; whether before, concurrently with, or more than 3 months after the diagnosis of HIV (incident TB). Predictors of incident TB were ascertained using Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

In all, 325 out of 2158 (15.1%) PLWH under care had had active TB; 64/325 (19.7%) prior to HIV diagnosis, 161/325 (49.5%) concurrently with/within 3 months of HIV diagnosis and 100/325 (30.8%) had incident TB. Incident TB risk was 4.57/1000 person-years. Increased TB incidence in the country of birth was associated with an increased risk of developing incident TB [50-149/100 000 population, adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 3.10, 95% CI: 0.94-10.20; 150-249/100 000 population, AHR = 7.14, 95% CI: 3.46-14.74; 250-349/100 000 population, AHR = 5.90, 95% CI: 2.32-14.99; ≥ 350/100 000 population, AHR = 3.96, 95% CI: 1.39-11.26].

CONCLUSIONS

Tuberculosis risk remains high among PLWH and is related to TB incidence in the country of birth. Further work is required to determine whether specific groups of PLWH should be targeted for programmatic LTBI screening, and whether it will result in high uptake and completion of chemoprophylaxis and is cost-effective for widespread implementation.

The impact of HIV infection on tuberculosis transmission in a country with low tuberculosis incidence: a national retrospective study using molecular epidemiology

BACKGROUND

HIV is known to increase the likelihood of reactivation of latent tuberculosis to active TB disease; however, its impact on tuberculosis infectiousness and consequent transmission is unclear, particularly in low-incidence settings.

METHODS

National surveillance data from England, Wales and Northern Ireland on tuberculosis cases in adults from 2010 to 2014, strain typed using 24-locus mycobacterial-interspersed-repetitive-units-variable-number-tandem-repeats was used retrospectively to identify clusters of tuberculosis cases, subdivided into 'first' and 'subsequent' cases. Firstly, we used zero-inflated Poisson regression models to examine the association between HIV status and the number of subsequent clustered cases (a surrogate for tuberculosis infectiousness) in a strain type cluster. Secondly, we used logistic regression to examine the association between HIV status and the likelihood of being a subsequent case in a cluster (a surrogate for recent acquisition of tuberculosis infection) compared to the first case or a non-clustered case (a surrogate for reactivation of latent infection).

RESULTS

We included 18,864 strain-typed cases, 2238 were the first cases of clusters and 8471 were subsequent cases. Seven hundred and fifty-nine (4%) were HIV-positive. Outcome 1: HIV-positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases who were the first in a cluster had fewer subsequent cases associated with them (mean 0.6, multivariable incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.75 [0.65-0.86]) than those HIV-negative (mean 1.1). Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) cases with HIV were less likely to be the first case in a cluster compared to HIV-negative EPTB cases. EPTB cases who were the first case had a higher mean number of subsequent cases (mean 2.5, IRR (3.62 [3.12-4.19]) than those HIV-negative (mean 0.6). Outcome 2: tuberculosis cases with HIV co-infection were less likely to be a subsequent case in a cluster (odds ratio 0.82 [0.69-0.98]), compared to being the first or a non-clustered case.

CONCLUSIONS

Outcome 1: pulmonary tuberculosis-HIV patients were less infectious than those without HIV. EPTB patients with HIV who were the first case in a cluster had a higher number of subsequent cases and thus may be markers of other undetected cases, discoverable by contact investigations. Outcome 2: tuberculosis in HIV-positive individuals was more likely due to reactivation than recent infection, compared to those who were HIV-negative.

Cost effectiveness of testing HIV infected individuals for TB in a low TB/HIV setting

OBJECTIVES

Guidelines recommend routine testing for latent TB infection (LTBI) in people living with HIV. However there are few cost-effectiveness studies to justify this in contemporary high resource, low TB/HIV incidence settings. We sought to assess the uptake, yield and cost-effectiveness of testing for latent and active TB.

METHODS

Adults attending an ambulatory HIV clinic in London, UK were prospectively recruited by stratified selection and tested for TB infection using symptom questionnaires, chest radiograph (CXR), tuberculin skin test (TST), T-Spot.TB and induced sputum. From this, 30 testing strategies were compared in a cost-effectiveness model including probabilistic sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation.

RESULTS

219 subjects were assessed; 95% were using antiretroviral therapy (ART). Smear negative, culture positive TB was present in 0.9% asymptomatic subjects, LTBI in 9%. Only strategies testing those from subSaharan Africa with a TST or interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) with or without CXR, or testing those from countries with a TB incidence of >40/100,000 with TST alone were cost-effective using a £30,000/QALY threshold.

CONCLUSIONS

Cost-effectiveness analysis in an adult HIV cohort with high ART usage suggests there is limited benefit beyond routine testing for latent TB in people from high and possibly medium TB incidence settings.

HIV-related tuberculosis: mortality risk in persons without vs. with culture-confirmed disease

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive persons is difficult, particularly in resource-limited settings. The relationship between TB culture status and mortality in HIV-positive persons treated for TB is unclear.

METHODS

We evaluated HIV-positive adults treated for TB at or after their first HIV clinic visit in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Mexico or Peru from 2000 to 2015. Anti-tuberculosis treatment included 2 months of isoniazid, rifampicin (RMP)/rifabutin (RBT), pyrazinamide ± ethambutol, followed by continuation phase treatment with isoniazid + RMP/RBT.

RESULTS

Of 759 TB-HIV patients, 238 (31%) were culture-negative, 228 (30%) had unknown culture status or did not undergo culture and 293 (39%) were culture-positive. The median CD4 at TB diagnosis was 96 (interquartile range 40-228); 636 (84%) received concurrent antiretroviral therapy (ART) and anti-tuberculosis treatment. There were 123 (16%) deaths: 90/466 (19%) with TB culture-negative, unknown or not performed vs. 33/293 (11%) who were TB culture-positive (P = 0.005). In Kaplan-Meier analysis, mortality in TB patients without culture-confirmed disease was higher (P = 0.002). In a Cox model adjusted for age, sex, CD4, ART timing, disease site and stratified by study site, mortality in persons without culture-confirmed TB was not significantly increased compared to those with culture-positive TB (hazard ratio 1.39, 95%CI 0.89-2.16, P = 0.15).

CONCLUSION

Most HIV-positive patients treated for TB did not have culture-confirmed TB, and mortality tended to be higher in patients without culture-confirmed disease, although the association was not statistically different after adjusting for other variables. Accurate TB diagnosis in HIV-positive persons is crucial.

Antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection: Swedish recommendations 2019

The Swedish Reference Group for Antiviral Therapy (RAV) published recommendations for the treatment of HIV infection in this journal most recently in 2017. An expert group under the guidance of RAV here provides updated recommendations. The most important updates in the present guidelines are the following: (a) The risk of HIV transmission through condomless sex from individuals with fully suppressed HIV viral load is effectively zero. (b) Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is recommended for groups with a high risk of HIV infection. (c) Since the last update, two new substances have been registered: bictegravir and doravirine. (d) Dual treatment may be an alternative in selected patients, using lamivudine + dolutegravir or lamivudine + boosted darunavir/atazanavir. As with previous publications, recommendations are evidence-graded in accordance with the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine. This document does not cover treatment of opportunistic infections and tumours.

2018 Belgian guidelines for the screening for latent tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients

Objectives: To review the current knowledge on screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in HIV-infected adults and provide specific guidelines for Belgium. Focus is given to who to test, which testing method to use, timing of screening and choice of LTBI treatment. Methods: Expert review by the members of the Belgian LTBI group, in consultancy with the ARC College. Results: Target population, timing of screening, testing method, active TB exclusion, treatment of LTBI and guideline implementation are all reviewed. Conclusions: The principal changes include a selective approach to screen for LTBI (screening only of the HIV-infected patients at highest risk of active TB) as well as the timing of screening (testing for LTBI performed only after immune-restauration by antiretroviral therapy).

HIV and tuberculosis co-infection in a highly HIV-infected population of rivers state, Nigeria

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) are considered as key players in the global health scene. This study sought to determine the prevalence of TB among HIV-positive attendees of the Directly Observed Treatment of Short Course (DOTS) program at the military hospital in Port Harcourt. The association of HIV prevalence with gender and age as risk factors was also determined. A total of 200 patients aged 15-65 years were screened. Re-screening for HIV was done for confirmation. The overall prevalence for anti-TB antibodies amongst HIV-positive individuals was 14.0% (7.5% in males and 6.5% in females) while HIV prevalence following re-screening was 92%. It was observed that based on employment status and level of education, the highest HIV prevalence was seen in unemployed individuals and individuals with no formal education. The result showed that 29.9% of the HIV seropositives were males while 70.1% were females. Sex-related prevalence of HIV-TB coinfection within groups indicated significantly higher co-infection rates (P < 0.05) among males (23.1%) than females (9.6%). Age-related prevalence of HIV-TB coinfection within groups showed that co-infection was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in ages below 30 years (21.2%) than in their counterparts 30 years and above (9.6%). This study confirmed the presence of TB co-infections among HIV-positive individuals in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Considering the role of TB in driving the HIV pandemic, it is imperative that HIV-positive patients are screened for TB infection regularly to reduce the scale of active HIV-TB co-infection.

Trends in, and factors associated with, HIV infection amongst tuberculosis patients in the era of anti-retroviral therapy: a retrospective study in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

BACKGROUND

HIV increases the progression of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection to active disease and contributed to increased TB in the UK until 2004. We describe temporal trends in HIV infection amongst patients with TB and identify factors associated with HIV infection.

METHODS

We used national surveillance data of all TB cases reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 2000 to 2014 and determined HIV status through record linkage to national HIV surveillance. We used logistic regression to identify associations between HIV and demographic, clinical and social factors.

RESULTS

There were 106,829 cases of TB in adults (≥ 15 years) reported from 2000 to 2014. The number and proportion of TB patients infected with HIV decreased from 543/6782 (8.0%) in 2004 to 205/6461 (3.2%) in 2014. The proportion of patients diagnosed with HIV > 91 days prior to their TB diagnosis increased from 33.5% in 2000 to 60.2% in 2013. HIV infection was highest in people of black African ethnicity from countries with high HIV prevalence (32.3%), patients who misused drugs (8.1%) and patients with miliary or meningeal TB (17.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

There has been an overall decrease in TB-HIV co-infection and a decline in the proportion of patients diagnosed simultaneously with both infections. However, high rates of HIV remain in some sub-populations of patients with TB, particularly black Africans born in countries with high HIV prevalence and people with a history of drug misuse. Whilst the current policy of testing all patients diagnosed with TB for HIV infection is important in ensuring appropriate management of TB patients, many of these TB cases would be preventable if HIV could be diagnosed before TB develops. Improving screening for both latent TB and HIV and ensuring early treatment of HIV in these populations could help prevent these TB cases. British HIV Association guidelines on latent TB testing for people with HIV from sub-Saharan Africa remain relevant, and latent TB screening for people with HIV with a history of drug misuse, homelessness or imprisonment should also be considered.

Increasing incidence of HIV- associated tuberculosis in Romanian injecting drug users

BACKGROUND

A high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-positive injecting drug users (IDUs) may fuel the TB epidemic in the general population of Romania. We determined the frequency and characteristics of TB in HIV-infected IDUs referred to a national centre.

METHODS

Prospective observational cohort study of all newly-diagnosed HIV-positive IDUs admitted to Victor Babes Hospital, Bucharest, between January 2009 and December 2014. Socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes of HIV/TB co-infected IDUs were compared to HIV-positive IDUs without TB.

RESULTS

170/598 (28.5%) HIV-infected IDUs were diagnosed with TB. The prevalence increased from 12.5% in 2009 to 32.1% in 2014 (P < 0.001). HIV/TB co-infected individuals had lower median CD4 cell counts 75 (vs. 450/mm³ , P < 0.0001) and higher median HIV viral loads 5.6 log₁₀ (vs. 4.9 log₁₀ , P < 0.0001) when presenting to healthcare services. 103/170 (60.6%) HIV/TB co-infected IDUs were diagnosed with pulmonary TB. Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were common, with 18/105 (17.1%) of patients having Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) disease. Higher mortality rate was associated with TB co-infection (P < 0.0001), extra-pulmonary TB (P = 0.0026) and extensively drug resistant TB (P = 0.024).

CONCLUSIONS

Tuberculosis (TB) is an increasing problem in HIV-infected IDUs in Romania. Presentation is often with advanced HIV, significant TB drug resistance and consequent outcomes are poor.

HIV-TB Coinfection among 57 Million Pregnant Women, Obstetric Complications, Alcohol Use, Drug Abuse, and Depression

Objective

HIV and tuberculosis represent diseases of major public health importance worldwide. Very little is known about HIV-TB coinfection among pregnant women, especially from industrialized settings. In this study, we examined the association between TB, HIV, and HIV-TB coinfection among pregnant mothers and obstetric complications, alcohol use, drug abuse, and depression.

Method

We examined inpatient hospital discharges in the United States from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2014. We employed multivariable survey logistic regression to generate adjusted estimates for the association between infection status and study outcomes.

Results

We analyzed approximately 57 million records of pregnant women and their delivery information. HIV-TB coinfection was associated with the highest risks for several obstetric complications, alcohol use, and drug abuse. The risk for alcohol abuse was more than twice as high among HIV-monoinfected as compared to TB-monoinfected mothers. That risk gap more than doubled with HIV-TB coinfection. Both HIV-monoinfected and HIV-TB coinfected mothers experienced similarly increased risks for depression.

Conclusions

Mothers with HIV-TB coinfection experienced relatively heightened risks for obstetric complications, alcohol use, and drug abuse. The findings of this study underscore the importance of augmenting and enhancing social and structural support systems for HIV-TB coinfected pregnant women.

Injecting drug use predicts active tuberculosis in a national cohort of people living with HIV

OBJECTIVES

Tuberculosis (TB) is common in people living with HIV, leading to worse clinical outcomes including increased mortality. We investigated risk factors for developing TB following HIV diagnosis.

DESIGN

Adults aged at least 15 years first presenting to health services for HIV care in England, Wales or Northern Ireland from 2000 to 2014 were identified from national HIV surveillance data and linked to TB surveillance data.

METHODS

We calculated incidence rates for TB occurring more than 91 days after HIV diagnosis and investigated risk factors using multivariable Poisson regression.

RESULTS

A total of 95 003 adults diagnosed with HIV were followed for 635 591 person-years; overall incidence of TB was 344 per 100 000 person-years (95% confidence interval 330-359). TB incidence was high for people who acquired HIV through injecting drugs [PWID; men 876 (696-1104), women 605 (365-945)] and black Africans born in high TB incidence countries [644 (612-677)]. The adjusted incidence rate ratio for TB amongst PWID was 4.79 (3.35-6.85) for men and 6.18 (3.49-10.93) for women, compared with MSM. The adjusted incidence rate ratio for TB in black Africans from high-TB countries was 4.27 (3.42-5.33), compared with white UK-born individuals. Lower time-updated CD4 cell count was associated with increased rates of TB.

CONCLUSION

PWID had the greatest risk of TB; incidence rates were comparable with those in black Africans from high TB incidence countries. Most TB cases in PWID were UK-born, and likely acquired TB through transmission within the United Kingdom. Earlier HIV diagnosis and quicker initiation of antiretroviral therapy should reduce TB incidence in these populations.

Screening and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection among HIV-infected patients in resource-rich settings

Current international guidelines recommend screening and treatment of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection in HIV-infected patients in all settings. The main factors affecting the risk of TB in HIV-infected patients include the level of immunosuppression, coverage of antiretroviral therapy and local TB burden. In resource-rich settings where antiretroviral therapy is more accessible and HIV-infected patients are expected to be diagnosed at an earlier stage, local TB burden remains a key factor on their risk of TB. This article reviewed the epidemiology of latent TB infection among the adult HIV-infected patients, and the use and benefit of screening and treatment of latent TB infection in resource-rich settings in the past decade. While such practice should be continued in countries with medium or high TB burden, targeted screening and treatment only for HIV-infected patients with additional risk factors for TB might be a more practical option in resource-rich countries with low TB burden.

Tuberculosis and HIV coinfection in Europe: looking at one reality from two angles

Objective:

To better understand the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB)/HIV coinfection in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) for planning of prevention and control measures.

Design:

Analysis of surveillance data.

Methods:

We performed an analysis of the 2014 TB and AIDS data to assess the burden of TB/HIV coinfection and we applied multivariable logistic regression to evaluate predictors for coinfection.

Results:

Twenty-one of 31 EU/EEA countries reported HIV testing results for 64.6% of the 32 892 notified TB cases. Of those, 1051 (4.9%) were reported as HIV-positive. Males [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07–1.46] and those in age group 25–44 years were more frequently coinfected. TB cases originating from the WHO African region had the highest proportion of coinfection (aOR 3.28 versus origin in EU/EEA; 95% CI 2.35–4.57). TB treatment was completed successfully by 57.9% of HIV-positive TB cases and 83.5% of HIV-negative cases. In 2014, 3863 cases of AIDS were reported by 29 EU/EEA countries; 691 (17.9%) of these cases presented with TB as an AIDS-defining illness. Persons who had acquired HIV through injecting drug use had higher odds of TB as an AIDS-defining illness (aOR 1.78 versus heterosexual route of transmission; 95% CI 1.37–2.32).

Conclusion:

TB/HIV coinfection is a substantial problem in the EU/EEA. The occurrence of TB in HIV-positive cases and the low TB treatment success rate suggest that international guidelines for prevention and treatment of TB in HIV-infected adults need to be better implemented.

Survival rate of AIDS disease and mortality in HIV-infected patients: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The life expectancy of patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) reported by several epidemiological studies is inconsistent. This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the survival rate from HIV diagnosis to AIDS onset and from AIDS onset to death.

METHODS

The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched to February 2016. In addition, the reference lists of included studies were checked to identify further references, and the database of the International AIDS Society was also searched. Cohort studies addressing the survival rate in patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS were included in this meta-analysis. The outcomes of interest were the survival rate of patients diagnosed with HIV progressing to AIDS, and the survival rate of patients with AIDS dying from AIDS-related causes with or without highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The survival rate (P) was estimated with 95% confidence intervals based on random-effects models.

RESULTS

In total, 27,862 references were identified, and 57 studies involving 294,662 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Two, 4-, 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-year survival probabilities of progression from HIV diagnosis to AIDS onset were estimated to be 82%, 72%, 64%, 57%, 26% and 19%, respectively. Two, 4-, 6-, 8- and 10-year survival probabilities of progression from AIDS onset to AIDS-related death in patients who received HAART were estimated to be 87%, 86%, 78%, 78%, and 61%, respectively, and 2-, 4- and 6-year survival probabilities of progression from AIDS onset to AIDS-related death in patients who did not receive HAART were estimated to be 48%, 26% and 18%, respectively. Evidence of considerable heterogeneity was found. The majority of the studies had a moderate to high risk of bias.

CONCLUSION

The majority of HIV-positive patients progress to AIDS within the first decade of diagnosis. Most patients who receive HAART will survive for >10 years after the onset of AIDS, whereas the majority of the patients who do not receive HAART die within 2 years of the onset of AIDS.

Beijing clades of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are associated with differential survival in HIV-negative Russian patients

We conducted a prospective study to establish factors associated with survival in tuberculosis patients in Russia including social, clinical and pathogen-related genetic parameters. Specifically we wished to determine whether different strains/clades of the Beijing lineage exerted a differential effect of survival. HIV-negative culture-confirmed cases were recruited during 2008-2010 across Samara Oblast and censored in December 2011. Molecular characterization was performed by a combination of spoligotyping, multilocus VNTR typing and whole genome sequencing (WGS). We analyzed 2602 strains and detected a high prevalence of Beijing family (n=1933; 74%) represented largely by two highly homogenous dominant clades A (n=794) and B (n=402) and non-A/non-B (n=737). Multivariable analysis of 1366 patients with full clinical and genotyping data showed that multi- and extensive drug resistance (HR=1.86; 95%CI: 1.52, 2.28 and HR=2.19; 95%CI: 1.55, 3.11) had the largest impact on survival. In addition older age, extensive lung damage, shortness of breath, treatment in the past and alcohol abuse reduced survival time. After adjustment for clinical and demographic predictors there was evidence that clades A and B combined were associated with poorer survival than other Beijing strains (HR=0.48; 95%CI 0.34, 0.67). All other pathogen-related factors (polymorphisms in genes plcA, plcB, plcC, lipR, dosT and pks15/1) had no effect on survival. In conclusion, drug resistance exerted the greatest effect on survival of TB patients. Nevertheless we provide evidence for the independent biological effect on survival of different Beijing family strains even within the same defined geographical population. Better understanding of the role of different strain factors in active disease and their influence on outcome is essential.