Priority Activities in Child and Adolescent Tuberculosis to Close the Policy-Practice Gap in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Chest X-Ray-Based Telemedicine Platform for Pediatric Tuberculosis Diagnosis in Low-Resource Settings: Development and Validation Study

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of morbidity and death worldwide, with a significant impact on children, especially those under the age of 5 years. The complex diagnosis of pediatric TB, compounded by limited access to more accurate diagnostic tests, underscores the need for improved tools to enhance diagnosis and care in resource-limited settings.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to present a telemedicine web platform, BITScreen PTB (Biomedical Image Technologies Screen for Pediatric Tuberculosis), aimed at improving the evaluation of pulmonary TB in children based on digital chest x-ray (CXR) imaging and clinical information in resource-limited settings.

METHODS

The platform was evaluated by 3 independent expert readers through a retrospective assessment of a data set with 218 imaging examinations of children under 3 years of age, selected from a previous study performed in Mozambique. The key aspects assessed were the usability through a standardized questionnaire, the time needed to complete the assessment through the platform, the performance of the readers to identify TB cases based on the CXR, the association between the TB features identified in the CXRs and the initial diagnostic classification, and the interreader agreement of the global assessment and the radiological findings.

RESULTS

The platform's usability and user satisfaction were evaluated using a questionnaire, which received an average rating of 4.4 (SD 0.59) out of 5. The average examination completion time ranged from 35 to 110 seconds. In addition, the study on CXR showed low sensitivity (16.3%-28.2%) but high specificity (91.1%-98.2%) in the assessment of the consensus case definition of pediatric TB using the platform. The CXR finding having a stronger association with the initial diagnostic classification was air space opacification (χ21>20.38, P<.001). The study found varying levels of interreader agreement, with moderate/substantial agreement for air space opacification (κ=0.54-0.67) and pleural effusion (κ=0.43-0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings support the promising role of telemedicine platforms such as BITScreen PTB in enhancing pediatric TB diagnosis access, particularly in resource-limited settings. Additionally, these platforms could facilitate the multireader and systematic assessment of CXR in pediatric TB clinical studies.

Global Burden of Tuberculosis in Adolescents and Young Adults: 1990-2019

OBJECTIVE

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health threat in adolescents and young adults. However, its burden in this population remains unclear. This study aimed to assess TB burden and changing trends in individuals aged 10 to 24 years from 1990 to 2019.

METHODS

All data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. We calculated the percentage of relative changes in incident cases, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The temporal trends of the incidence, mortality, and DALYs were assessed using estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs).

RESULTS

At global level, TB incidence (per 100 000 population) decreased from 144.12 in 1990 to 97.56 in 2019, with average 1.28% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36%-1.19%) of decline per year. Similar decreasing trends occurred across sex, age, sociodemographic index regions, and in most Global Burden of Disease study regions and countries. TB incidence in female adolescents decreased faster than that in male. However, there was an increasing trend in the incidence of extensively drug-resistant TB (EAPC = 11.23, 95% CI: 8.22-14.33) and multidrug-resistant TB without extensive drug resistance (EAPC = 3.28, 95% CI: 1.73-4.86). South Africa had the highest increase in TB incidence (EAPC = 3.51, 95% CI: 3.11-3.92).

CONCLUSIONS

Global TB incidence, mortality, and DALYs in adolescents and young adults decreased from 1990 to 2019. However, the incidence of drug-resistant TB increased. TB remains a threat in adolescents and young adults worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and COVID-19: A Scoping Review on a New Threat to Antimicrobial Resistance

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of COVID-19 on the morbidity and mortality associated with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB).

METHODS

A comprehensive review of articles published in international databases since December 2019 was conducted. The findings are presented in a narrative format, supplemented with tables, diagrams, and a map created using ArcGIS software.

RESULTS

Thirty-five studies were selected, highlighting the significant consequences of COVID-19 on TB and DR-TB treatment progress. Four main thematic areas were identified: Clinical and epidemiological aspects of the interaction between COVID-19 and DR-TB; Management of physical resources and the team; Challenges and circumstances; Perspectives and possibilities.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly negatively impacted the control of long-standing diseases like TB, particularly in the context of morbidity and mortality related to DR-TB.

Effectiveness of a community-based approach for the investigation and management of children with household tuberculosis contact in Cameroon and Uganda: a cluster-randomised trial

BACKGROUND

Globally, the uptake of tuberculosis-preventive treatment (TPT) among children with household tuberculosis contact remains low, partly due to the necessity of bringing children to health facilities for investigations. This study aimed to evaluate the effect on TPT initiation and completion of community-based approaches to tuberculosis contact investigations in Cameroon and Uganda.

METHODS

We did a parallel, cluster-randomised, controlled trial across 20 clusters (consisting of 25 district hospitals and primary health centres) in Cameroon and Uganda, which were randomised (1:1) to receive a community-based approach (intervention group) or standard-of-care facility-based approach to contact screening and management (control group). The community-based approach consisted of symptom-based tuberculosis screening of all household contacts by community health workers at the household, with referral of symptomatic contacts to local facilities for investigations. Initiation of TPT (3-month course of rifampicin-isoniazid) was done by a nurse in the household, and home visits for TPT follow-up were done by community health workers. Index patients were people aged 15 years or older with bacteriologically confirmed, drug-susceptible, pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed less than 1 month before inclusion and who declared at least one child or young adolescent (aged 0-14 years) household contact. The primary endpoint was the proportion of declared child contacts in the TPT target group (those aged <5 years irrespective of HIV status, and children aged 5-14 years living with HIV) who commenced and completed TPT, assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population (excluding enrolled index patients and their contacts who did not fit the eligibility criteria). Descriptive cascade of care assessment and generalised linear mixed modelling were used for comparison. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03832023).

FINDINGS

The study included nine clusters in the intervention group (after excluding one cluster that did not enrol any index patients for >2 months) and ten in the control group. Between Oct 14, 2019 and Jan 13, 2022, 2894 child contacts were declared by 899 index patients with bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis. Among all child contacts declared, 1548 (81·9%) of 1889 in the intervention group and 475 (47·3%) of 1005 in the control group were screened for tuberculosis. 1400 (48·4%) child contacts were considered to be in the TPT target group: 941 (49·8%) of 1889 in the intervention group and 459 (45·7%) of 1005 in the control group. In the TPT target group, TPT was commenced and completed in 752 (79·9%) of 941 child contacts in the intervention group and 283 (61·7%) of 459 in the control group (odds ratio 3·06 [95% CI 1·24-7·53]).

INTERPRETATION

A community-based approach using community health workers can significantly increase contact investigation coverage and TPT completion among eligible child contacts in a tuberculosis-endemic setting.

FUNDING

Unitaid.

TRANSLATION

For the French translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Drug Resistance and Molecular Characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: A Single Center Experience

In recent years, the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) and mortality caused by the disease have been decreasing. However, the number of drug-resistant tuberculosis patients is increasing rapidly year by year. Here, a total of 380 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-positive formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) specimens diagnosed in the Department of Pathology of the Eighth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital were collected. Among 380 cases of MTB, 85 (22.37%) were susceptible to four anti-TB drugs and the remaining 295 (77.63%) were resistant to one or more drugs. The rate of MDR-TB was higher in previously treated cases (52.53%) than in new cases [(36.65%), p  <  0.05]. Of previously treated cases, the rate of drug resistance was higher in females than in males (p  <  0.05). Among specimens obtained from males, the rate of drug resistance was higher in new cases than in previously treated cases (p  <  0.05). Of mutation in drug resistance-related genes, the majority (53/380, 13.95%) of rpoB gene carried the D516V mutation, and 13.42% (51/380) featured mutations in both the katG and inhA genes. Among the total specimens, 18.68% (71/380) carried the 88 M mutation in the rpsL gene, and the embB gene focused on the 306 M2 mutation with a mutation rate of 19.74%. Among the resistant INH, the mutation rate of −15 M was higher in resistance to more than one drug than in monodrug-resistant (p  <  0.05). In conclusion, the drug resistance of MTB is still very severe and the timely detection of drug resistance is conducive to the precise treatment of TB.

Testing and Scaling Interventions to Improve the Tuberculosis Infection Care Cascade

Tuberculosis (TB) preventive therapy (TPT) is increasingly recognized as the key to eliminating tuberculosis globally and is particularly critical for children with TB infection or who are in close contact with individuals with infectious TB. But many barriers currently impede successful scale-up to provide TPT to those at high risk of TB disease. The cascade of care in TB infection (and the related contact management cascade) is a conceptual framework to evaluate and improve the care of persons who are potential candidates for TPT. This review summarizes recent literature on barriers and solutions in the TB infection care cascade, focusing on children in both high- and low-burden settings, and drawing from studies on children and adults. Identifying and closing gaps in the care cascade will require the implementation of tools that are new (e.g. computer-assisted radiography) and old (e.g. efficient contact tracing), and will be aided by innovative implementation study designs, quality improvement methods, and shared clinical practice with primary care providers.

Social Determinants of Adherence to Treatment for Tuberculosis Infection and Disease Among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: A Narrative Review

Global efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) must address the unique barriers that children (ages 0 through 9 years) and adolescents/young adults (AYA; ages 10 through 24 years) face in adhering to treatment for TB infection and disease. We conducted a narrative review to summarize current knowledge on the social determinants of treatment adherence among these age groups to guide efforts and policy to address their unique needs. Our findings revealed that research on TB treatment adherence among children and AYA is still in its nascent stage. The current literature revealed structural/community-, health system-, household-, and individual-level factors that influence treatment adherence and varied with developmental stage. There is a need to develop multilevel interventions to address the unique challenges that children and AYA face in adhering to TB treatment.