A Clinical-Epidemiological and Geospatial Study of Tuberculosis in a Neglected Area in the Amazonian Region Highlights the Urgent Need for Control Measures

Geo-spatial high-risk clusters of Tuberculosis in the global general population: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this systematic review is to identify tuberculosis (TB) high-risk among the general population globally. The review was conducted using the following steps: elaboration of the research question, search for relevant publications, selection of studies found, data extraction, analysis, and evidence synthesis.

METHODS

The studies included were those published in English, from original research, presented findings relevant to tuberculosis high-risk across the globe, published between 2017 and 2023, and were based on geospatial analysis of TB. Two reviewers independently selected the articles and were blinded to each other`s comments. The resultant disagreement was resolved by a third blinded reviewer. For bibliographic search, controlled and free vocabularies that address the question to be investigated were used. The searches were carried out on PubMed, LILACS, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science. and Google Scholar.

RESULTS

A total of 79 published articles with a 40-year study period between 1982 and 2022 were evaluated. Based on the 79 studies, more than 40% of all countries that have carried out geospatial analysis of TB were from Asia, followed by South America with 23%, Africa had about 15%, and others with 2% and 1%. Various maps were used in the various studies and the most used is the thematic map (32%), rate map (26%), map of temporal tendency (20%), and others like the kernel density map (6%). The characteristics of the high-risk and the factors that affect the hotspot's location are evident through studies related to poor socioeconomic conditions constituting (39%), followed by high population density (17%), climate-related clustering (15%), high-risk spread to neighbouring cities (13%), unstable and non-random cluster (11%).

CONCLUSION

There exist specific high-risk for TB which are areas that are related to low socioeconomic conditions and spectacular weather conditions, these areas when well-known will be easy targets for intervention by policymakers. We recommend that more studies making use of spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal analysis be carried out to point out territories and populations that are vulnerable to TB.

Spatial Analysis of Tuberculosis Patient Flow in a Neglected Region of Northern Brazil

Tuberculosis (TB) is still considered a priority due to its high incidence rate in Brazil. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the flow of care between the municipalities of patients diagnosed with TB through notification forms of the Information System for Diseases and Notifications (SINAN) in a neglected region of Northern Brazil, Ilha do Marajó, state of Para. For this, we performed a descriptive, retrospective study on data obtained from the National Register of Health Establishments and SINAN from 2013 to 2018. We used Pearson's Chi-square and G Test with p-value < 0.05 for descriptive statistics and spatial analysis technique on flow network analysis. Of the 749 cases, 16.5% were notified in another municipality that was not the patient's residence. Regarding diagnostic methods, a positive bacterioscopy was adopted for 56% of the patients; culture was not performed for 82% of cases. Histopathological examination was not performed in 90% of the individuals. Rapid molecular test (RMT) was performed in only six (5%) cases. The region needs greater attention focused on diagnostic tests, suggesting that the introduction of RMT and culture by Ogawa-Kudoh could improve the region's health network to minimise patient displacement and thus avoid the increase in the transmission chain of TB.

Factors Associated with the Abandonment of Tuberculosis Treatment in Brazil: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In Brazil, TB is a public health problem, and the treatment dropout rate contributes to it.

METHODS

This systematic review investigated the factors associated with TB treatment dropout in Brazil using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. The databases used were Bireme, Scopus, PubMed, Medline, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), and Latin-American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS). The search was conducted on May 16, 2021. Nine articles were reviewed, and all were published within the last 5 years in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

RESULTS

The sample sizes in the studies ranged from 148 to 77,212 individuals, and the studies enrolled only adult patients (aged 18-59 years) in Brazil. Evidence suggests that the significant risk factors associated with TB treatment dropout are male sex, black race/ethnicity, age between 19 and 49 years, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection, low education (<8 years), use of alcohol and illicit drugs, and unsupervised treatment. This study's limitations were the small number of articles published on this topic with stronger study designs, use of secondary data sources in most articles, and a moderate to high risk of bias in most papers.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a significant association between abandonment of TB treatment and HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome co-infection; socioeconomic factors (low education and homelessness); use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; and failure to use directly observed treatment. These results can guide more efficient measures to prevent dropout.

Geoespacialização da tuberculose e os programas de transferência de renda entre indígenas em território endêmico

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar o padrão espacial de tuberculose em indígenas do Pará e sua correlação com transferência de renda. Métodos: Estudo ecológico, com 340 casos notificados em indígenas no Pará/Brasil, no período 2016-2020. Realizou-se análise descritiva e cálculo das taxas de incidência com suavização pelo método bayesiano empírico local. Fez-se autocorrelação das taxas com dados de transferência de renda pelo Moran Global, p<0,05. Resultados: As mesorregiões Marajó e Metropolitana de Belém apresentaram as taxas de tuberculose mais elevadas e reduzido número de pessoas beneficiadas com transferência de renda (correlação alto-baixo). No Sudoeste, identificaram se taxas elevadas e número significativo de pessoas beneficiadas com os auxílios financeiros (correlação alto alto), I=0,399, p=0,027. Conclusões: A autocorrelação espacial entre tuberculose e acesso a programas de transferência de renda constitui importante subsídio para formulação de políticas de proteção social, podendo impactar as ações de controle da doença nos territórios indígenas, valorizando a heterogeneidade epidemiológica identificada nas mesorregiões.

Geospatialization of tuberculosis and income transfer programs among Indigenous peoples in an endemic territory

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the spatial pattern of tuberculosis in Indigenous peoples from the State of Pará and its correlation with income transfer.

METHODS

Ecological study, with 340 cases reported in Indigenous peoples in the State of Pará, Brazil, in the period 2016-2020. The study performed a descriptive analysis and calculation of incidence rates with smoothing by the local empirical Bayesian method. The Global Moran index assessed the autocorrelation of the rates with income transfer data, p<0,05.

RESULTS

The Marajó and metropolitan mesoregions of Belém had the highest tuberculosis rates, and a reduced number of people benefited from income transfer (high-low correlation). The study identified high rates, and a significant number of people benefited from financial aid (high correlation high), I=0.399, p=0.027 in the Southwest.

CONCLUSIONS

The spatial autocorrelation between tuberculosis and access to income transfer programs constitutes a relevant subsidy for the formulation of social protection policies and may impact the disease control actions in Indigenous territories, valuing the epidemiological heterogeneity identified in the mesoregions.