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Objectives: To ascertain childhood tuberculosis (TB) trends, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection rates and multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) prevalence rates in Zambia.Methods: A retrospective review of Zambian annual TB notification data and National TB Programme reports for a 7 year period (2004–2011). TB trends were stratified by age and HIV status.Results: The total number of children notified during this period with all forms of TB was 40 976. A total of 2670 of 40 976 (6%) were smear-positive cases. Notification rates of all forms of childhood TB show a decline in trends from 135 per 100 000 population in 2004, to 69 per 100 000 population in 2011.Conclusions: Childhood TB is an important but neglected problem in Zambia highlighted by the fact that no data exists on HIV co-infection and MDR-TB. Strengthening of the National TB Programme and diagnostics services/algorithms are required to accurately define the TB burden, HIV co-infection and MDR-TB rates in children in Zambia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In an inpatient setting in Zambia, a country where tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection are highly endemic, the Xpert MTB/RIF assay was 86.1% sensitive for culture-confirmed tuberculosis and 81.3% sensitive and 97.5% specific for culture-confirmed, rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis.Background. There were 1.45 million deaths from tuberculosis (TB) in 2011. A substantial proportion of active pulmonary TB cases in countries where tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and AIDS are highly endemic remain undiagnosed because of the reliance on sputum-smear microscopy. This study evaluated the performance of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay at a tertiary care referral center in Zambia, a country where the burden of TB and HIV infection is high.Methods. A total of 881 adult inpatients admitted to University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka who were able to produce sputum were enrolled and analyzed in the study, irrespective of admission diagnosis. Sputum specimens were analyzed by fluorescence smear microscopy, the Xpert MTB/RIF assay, mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) culture, and MGIT drug-susceptibility testing. The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay were evaluated using culture as the gold standard.Results. Culture-confirmed TB was found in 201 of 881 patients (22.8%). The specificity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay was 95.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 92.4%–96.8%), and the sensitivity was 86.1% (95% CI, 80.3%–90.4%). In sputum smear–negative, culture-positive cases, the assay was 74.7% sensitive (95% CI, 64.6%–82.8%), identifying 71 additional TB cases that were not detected by smear microscopy. A total of 18 of 111 patients with TB who were tested (16.2%) had multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay for detecting culture-confirmed, rifampicin-resistant TB was 81.3% (95% CI, 53.7%–95.0%) and 97.5% (95% CI, 90.4%–99.6%), respectively.Conclusions. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay performs better than smear microscopy in an inpatient setting in a country where TB and HIV infection are highly endemic. Assessment of its usefulness and cost-effectiveness for increased detection of TB cases missed by sputum smear and for concomitant screening for MDR TB among adult inpatients attending tertiary care referral centers in other countries with a high burden of TB and HIV infection is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Copyright of Tropical Medicine & International Health is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: In high-tuberculosis (TB)-endemic countries, comorbidity of pulmonary TB in hospitalised patients with non-communicable diseases is well documented. In this study, we evaluated the use of the Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay for the detection of concomitant pulmonary TB in patients admitted to the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia, with a primary obstetric or gynaecological condition., Methods: The Study population were inpatients admitted with a primary obstetric or gynaecological problem who had a concomitant cough and were able to expectorate a sputum sample. Sputum samples from 94 patients were analysed for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) by standard smear microscopy, MGIT culture, MGIT drug-susceptibility testing (DST) and the Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay. The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay were evaluated against the culture gold standard., Results: Twenty-six of 94 (27.7%) patients had culture-confirmed pulmonary TB. The Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay had a sensitivity of 80.8% [95% CI: 60.0-92.7%]) compared against MGIT culture. The Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay was more sensitive than sputum smear microscopy (21/26 (80.8%) vs. 13/26 (50.0%), P = 0.02) and detected an additional eight culture-confirmed cases. Culture DST analysis identified two monoresistant M.tb strains: one resistant to rifampicin (rifampicin sensitive by the Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay) and one to ethambutol. HIV infection was linked with a 3-fold increase in risk of TB, accounting for 87.5% (21/24) of TB cases. 50% of cases presented as comorbidities with other communicable diseases (CDs) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs)., Conclusions: As an alternative to sputum microscopy, the Xpert(®) MTB/RIF assay provides a sensitive, specific and rapid method for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in obstetric or gynaecological inpatients. Pulmonary TB is an important cause of concomitant comorbidity to the obstetric or gynaecological condition necessitating admission. TB and HIV comorbidities with other communicable and non-communicable diseases were also common. More proactive screening for TB comorbidity is required in obstetric and gynaecological wards., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)