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Non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease is on the rise globally. It is often missed, and causes significant morbidity and even mortality. Here, members of a clinical research network and a patient support group discuss some of the current key issues in NTM management.In addition to the need for research into epidemiology, immunology and treatment, we recommend greater use of patient and clinician networks to: (i) educate primary and secondary care clinicians to develop a high index of suspicion when investigating and treating at risk populations. (ii) promote a multidisciplinary team. (iii) promote shared patient-clinician decision making throughout care. (iv) incorporate use of patient self-report measures to assess progress and outcomes. (v) increase education of patients on their illness and its management. (vi) recruit patients into research projects and registries to improve the clinical evidence base. (vii) increase co-production of research with key stakeholders such as patients and their families, using expert patients and patient groups. (viii) understand more about the psychological, social and economic consequences of the disease.

An immunocompetent migrant with chest pain was admitted to an Italian hospital. Computed tomography showed a left pectoral abscess and osteomyelitis of the sternum. The infection had spread into the anterior mediastinum near to the pericardium and the heart, where an atrial mass was confirmed by echocardiography. Disseminated tuberculosis was diagnosed. Keywords: Disseminated tuberculosis, Heart mass, TB, Bronchoscopy, Migration

The TBCert is a distance-learning course, launched in 2019 and hosted by QMUL. The course is open to doctors, nurses, and public health workers who wish to subspecialize in TB. The course was established to elevate TB medicine to a subspecialty. We feel it is imperative to educate health practitioners from different sectors to deliver the most advanced level of care and control activities, standardisze training, reduce clinical variability, and instil best practice. The courses main objectives are to provide a relevant syllabus delivered through high quality teaching from world-class experts using an innovative interactive online platform. The curriculum is based on current internationally accepted (including WHO) guidelines and recommendations. Students are taught with pre-recorded lectures and regular live online webinar discussions delivered by experts in the field. Online discussion groups, one to one teaching-to-one teaching, and mentorship are organiszed to promote a shared as well as a tailored experience that helps students attain the learning outcomes and achieve their expectations. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Postgraduate, Certificate, Education, Training

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of global morbidity, yet there is limited information regarding its impact on quality of life and health status. This is surprising given the implications for patient care, the evaluation of novel treatments or preventative strategies, and also health policy. Furthermore, there is no validated TB-specific instrument that measures health status, and thus a wide and non-standardized range of assessment tools have been employed. The studies to date have chosen a number of different comparator populations, and in many TB endemic areas there is a lack of normative data regarding the health status of the general population. Systematic evaluations of quality of life are urgently needed in specific groups, including those with extrapulmonary TB, drug-resistant disease, HIV co-infection, and latent TB infection, and in children with TB; the assessment of post-treatment disability is also required.

The coalescence of the HIV-1 and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics in Sub-Saharan Africa has had a significant and negative impact on global health. The availability of effective antimicrobial treatment for both HIV-1 (in the form of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)) and TB (with antimycobacterial agents) has the potential to mitigate the associated morbidity and mortality. However, the use of both HAART and antimycobacterial therapy is associated with the development of inflammatory paradoxical syndromes after commencement of therapy. These include paradoxical reactions (PR) and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndromes (IRIS), conditions that complicate mycobacterial disease in HIV seronegative and seropositive individuals. Here, we discuss case definitions for PR and IRIS, and explore how advances in identifying the risk factors and immunopathogenesis of these conditions informs our understanding of their shared underlying pathogenesis. We propose that both PR and IRIS are characterized by the triggering of exaggerated inflammation in a setting of immunocompromise and antigen loading, via the reversal of immunosuppression by HAART and/or antimycobacterials. Further understanding of the molecular basis of this pathogenesis may pave the way for effective immunotherapies for the treatment of PR and IRIS.