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Aim: To study the association of comorbidities and treatment outcomes in tuberculosis (TB) patients., Materials and Methods: A retrospective study includes all TB patients aged 18 years and older registered for treatment in Moscow in period 2021 the end of the 3rd quarter of 2022 using data of regional epidemiological TB monitoring system, a total of 3039 patients. The frequency and spectrum of comorbidities, its impact on the risk of adverse treatment outcome (ATO) and mortality using univariate and regression analysis were assessed., Results: Comorbidities were identified in 1528 (50.3%) patients (95% confidence interval - CI 48.5-52.1); HIV infection (18.0%), chronic nonspecific lung disease (9.6%) and cardiovascular disease (8.2%) were predominant. The presence of comorbid pathology increased the odds of uneffective treatment (odds ratio - OR 2.56, 95% CI 2.22-3.03) and death (OR 2.45, 95% СI 1.67-3.59). Independent risk factors for ATO were HIV infection (OR 4.10, 95% CI 3.36-5.10), substance use (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.70-3.66), chronic nonspecific lung disease (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.04-1.88), diabetes mellitus (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.15-2.48), liver pathology (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.46-3.03), mental illness (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.32-3.06). The death rate was 13.4%; the most significant predictors of mortality were HIV infection (OR 3.89, 95% CI 2.42-6.22) and liver disease (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.27-2.82). A comorbidome model was constructed to assess the importance of different comorbidities for patient prognosis., Conclusion: The presence of comorbidity (predominantly HIV infection and liver disease) is a significant risk factor for ATO and mortality in TB patients, which should be taken into account when organizing and providing TB care to comorbid patients.

Background: There is currently no widespread implementation of pharmacogenetic testing (PGx) methods in the practice of phthisiology service., Objective: The aim of this study is to determine how informed and prepared phthisiologists, residents, and postgraduate students of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education (RMACPE, Moscow) use PGx techniques in their work to improve treatment safety, predict the occurrence of adverse reactions (ADRs), and personalize therapy., Methods: A survey was conducted among phthisiologists (n = 314) living in different regions of the Russian Federation and studying at RMACPE, such as residents and post-graduate students (n = 185). The survey was developed on the Testograf.ru web platform and had 25 questions for physicians and 22 for residents and post-graduate students., Results: More than 50% of respondents are ready to use PGx in clinical practice and thus are aware of the method's possibilities. At the same time only a small part of participants were aware of the pharmgkb.org resource. The absence of PGx in clinical guidelines and treatment standards, according to 50.95% of phthisiologists and 55.13% of students of RMACPE, the absence of large-scale randomized clinical trials, according to 37.26% of phthisiologists and 43.33% of students, and the lack of physician knowledge on PGx, according to 41.08% of phthisiologists and 57.83% of students, are all factors that prevent the implementation of PGx in Russia., Conclusion: According to the survey, the overwhelming majority of participants recognize the importance of PGx and are willing to use the method in practice. However, there is a low level of awareness among all respondents about the possibilities of PGx and the pharmgkb.org resource. The implementation of this service could significantly increase patient compliance, lower ADRs, and enhance anti-tuberculosis (TB) therapy quality.

Coronavirus disease has disrupted tuberculosis services globally. Data from 33 centers in 16 countries on 5 continents showed that attendance at tuberculosis centers was lower during the first 4 months of the pandemic in 2020 than for the same period in 2019. Resources are needed to ensure tuberculosis care continuity during the pandemic.

Background: The goal of this study was to compare the consistency of three assays for the determination of the drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains with various resistance profiles isolated from the Moscow region., Methods: A total of 144 MTB clinical isolates with a strong bias toward drug resistance were examined using Bactec MGIT 960, Sensititre MycoTB, and a microarray-based molecular assay TB-TEST to detect substitutions in the rpoB, katG, inhA, ahpC, gyrA, gyrB, rrs, eis, and embB genes that are associated with resistance to rifampin, isoniazid, fluoroquinolones, second-line injectable drugs and ethambutol., Results: The average correlation for the identification of resistant and susceptible isolates using the three methods was approximately 94%. An association of mutations detected with variable resistance levels was shown. We propose a change in the breakpoint minimal inhibitory concentration for kanamycin to less than 5 μg/ml in the Sensititre MycoTB system. A pairwise comparison of the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of two different drugs revealed an increased correlation in the first-line drug group and a partial correlation in the second-line drug group, reflecting the history of the preferential simultaneous use of drugs from these groups. An increased correlation with the MICs was also observed for drugs sharing common resistance mechanisms., Conclusions: The quantitative measures of phenotypic drug resistance produced by the Sensititre MycoTB and the timely detection of mutations using the TB-TEST assay provide guidance for clinicians for the choice of the appropriate drug regimen., Competing Interests: DG and DZ are from a group of developers that invented the TB-TEST microarray assay and are the only authors of Russian patent #2562866, filed by the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology (EIMB). Currently, the TB-TEST kit is produced and sold by the EIMB spin-off company Biochip-IMB, LLC. DG and DZ earned royalties from patent licensing (in 2015 these royalties comprised approximately $100 US dollars per person). DG and DZ are not employees of the Biochip-IMB company and have no direct commercial or financial relationship with this company. There are not any further patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. Therefore, we declare that this circumstance does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. All other authors have declared that no competing interests exist.