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This study aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of three tuberculosis (TB) antigen-based skin tests (TBST) (Diaskintest, C-TST, and Cy-TB) and QFT-Plus for TB infection diagnosis compared to the current standard of care, PPD Rt-23 tuberculin skin test (TST), among healthcare workers in Brazil. A state-transition Markov model was employed, simulating a cohort of healthcare workers (five annual cycles) for testing and treating TB infection with three months of weekly doses of rifapentine and isoniazid (3HP) under the Brazilian public health system perspective. Effects (TB disease averted) and costs for screening and treating TB infection were discounted at 5%. Incremental cost-effectiveness per TB averted was estimated. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed. Brazil, an upper-middle-income country with a high burden of TB, shows one of the largest universal public health systems and provides free-of-charge diagnosis and treatment for TB and TB infection. TST is the standard of care, whereas QFT-Plus is available for very high-risk populations. The three new TBST are under validation for eventual incorporation. Patients or participants: a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 healthcare workers, working at any level of healthcare service, and negative TST results in the previous year of both sexes with a baseline negative TST result. Diaskintest, C-TST, Cy-TB, and QFT-Plus were found to show a higher specificity. Costs with QFT-Plus were higher due to equipment, human labor, and test price. Diaskintest was the most cost-saving strategy, followed by Cy-TB for TB preventive treatment with 3HP. In the Brazilian scenario, Diaskintest and Cy-TB are the most cost-effective tests for sequential testing of healthcare workers.

Objective: To estimate prevalence of the full vaccination schedule for children 12 to 24 months old and to analyze associated factors., Methods: Survey with cluster sampling carried out in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, between December 16, 2020, and January 4, 2021. Children born in Vitória in 2017 and 2018 were included. We estimated the prevalence of vaccination schedules. Poisson regression was used to verify association with full vaccination coverage., Results: We included 788 children. Full vaccination coverage was found to be 57% taking a 95% confidence interval (95%CI 50.98;62.98). Prevalence of full vaccination coverage was lowest when private services were used for immunization (prevalence ratio [PR] 0.67; 95%CI 0.51;0.86) and when mothers had ≥ 4 children (PR 0.55; 95%CI 0.32;0.94)., Conclusion: We found low vaccination coverage and a drop in booster doses. Use of private services for immunization and number of children were associated with incomplete vaccination coverage.

The use of fixed dose-combinations of antivirals with different mechanisms of action has proven key in the successful treatment of infections with HIV and HCV. For the treatment of infections with SARS-CoV-2 and possible future epi-/pandemic coronaviruses, it will be important to explore the efficacy of combinations of different drugs, in particular to avoid resistance development, such as in patients with immunodeficiencies. This work explores the effect of a combination of 3 broad-spectrum antiviral nucleosides on the replication of coronaviruses. To that end, we made use of primary human airway epithelial cell (HAEC) cultures grown at the air-liquid interface that were infected with the beta coronavirus OC43. We found that the triple combination of GS-441524 (the parent nucleoside of remdesivir), molnupiravir and ribavirin resulted in a more pronounced antiviral efficacy than what could be expected from a purely additive antiviral effect. The potency of this triple combination was next tested in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters in a prophylactic setup. To that end, for each of the drugs, intentionally suboptimal or even ineffective doses were selected. Yet, in the lungs of all hamsters that received triple prophylactic therapy (but not in those that received the respective double combinations) no infectious virus was detectable. Our findings indicate that co-administration of approved drugs for the treatment of coronavirus infections should be further explored but also against other families of viruses with epidemic and pandemic potential for which no effective antiviral treatment is available., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The use of fixed dose-combinations of antivirals with different mechanisms of action has proven a key in the successful treatment of infections with HIV and HCV. For the treatment of infections with SARS-CoV-2 and possible future epi-/pandemic coronaviruses, it will be important to explore the efficacy of combinations of different drugs, in particular to avoid resistance development, such as in patients with immunodeficiencies. As a first effort, we studied the antiviral potency of combinations of antivirals. To that end, we made use of primary human airway epithelial cell (HAEC) cultures grown at the air-liquid interface that were infected with the beta coronavirus OC43. We found that the triple combination of GS-441524 (parent nucleoside of remdesivir), molnupiravir, and ribavirin resulted in a more pronounced antiviral efficacy than what could be expected from a purely additive antiviral effect. The potency of this triple combination was next tested in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters. To that end, for each of the drugs, intentionally suboptimal or even ineffective doses were selected. Yet, in the lungs of all hamsters that received triple prophylactic therapy with suboptimal/inactive doses of GS-441524, molnupiravir, and ribavirin, no infectious virus was detectable. Our finding indicate that co-administration of approved drugs for the treatment of coronavirus infections should be further explored but also against other families of viruses with epidemic and pandemic potential for which no effective antiviral treatment is available.

Introduction: It is essential to strengthen the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to break the chain of transmission. The drug used worldwide for the treatment of LTBI is Isoniazid. A clinical trial conducted in Brazil has demonstrated the bioequivalence of Isoniazid in the 300 mg formulation with 3 tablets in the 100 mg formulation. Further studies are needed to evaluate the completion of treatment with Isoniazid 300 mg single tablet., Objective: Describing a protocol for a clinical trial to evaluate the completion of treatment of LTBI with the drug Isoniazid in 300 mg tablet formulation compared to the use of Isoniazid in 100 mg tablet formulation., Methods: This is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized, open-label clinical trial registered on the Rebec RBR-2wsdt6 platform. Individuals 18 years of age or older with an indication for treatment of LTBI will be included, with only 1 individual per family nucleus. Individuals whose index case of active TB is categorized as retreatment, multidrug-resistant and extremely resistant, individuals transferred from the original center two or more weeks after the onset of treatment, and persons deprived of liberty will be excluded. The study intervention will be the treatment of LTBI with 1 tablet of Isoniazid 300 mg. The control group will receive the treatment of LTBI with 3 tablets of Isoniazid 100 mg. Follow-up will be performed at month 1, month 2 and at the end of treatment. The primary outcome will be completion of treatment., Conclusion: It is expected that with the treatment with the 300 mg formulation, more patients will complete the treatment based on the complexity index of pharmacotherapy. Our study intends to substantiate theoretical and operational strategies that respond to the demand for incorporation of a new formulation of the drug for the treatment of LTBI in the Unified Health System network., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Cola et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and the replacement of preceding isolates have been observed through B.1.1.7, B.1.351, B.1.617.2, and B.1.1.529 lineages (corresponding to alpha, beta, delta, and omicron variants of concern (VoC), respectively). However, there is still a lack of biological evidence to which extent those VoC differ from the ancestral lineages. By exploiting human airway epithelial cell (HAEC) cultures, which closely resemble the human airway architecture and physiology, we report distinctive SARS-CoV-2 tropism in different respiratory tissues. In general, SARS-CoV-2 VoC predominantly infect and replicate in HAEC better than the progenitor USA-WA1 isolate or the BavPat1 isolate, which contains the D614G mutation, even though there is little to no difference between variants regarding their infectivity (i.e., virion-per-vRNA copy ratio). We also observe differential tissue-specific innate immunity activation between the upper and lower respiratory tissues in the presence of the virus. Our study provides better comprehension of the behavior of the different VoC in this physiologically relevant ex vivo model.

Objectives: to analyze government social initiatives aimed at people with tuberculosis and the possibilities of access to government social programs and income transfers through the perception of tuberculosis program managers., Methods: descriptive, qualitative study with 19 managers from Belém, Recife, Campo Grande, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thematic content analysis was used., Results: there is no specific government social support for people with tuberculosis; the benefits are intended for people in social vulnerability. There are partnerships between the institutions of the secondary social healthcare network, social assistance, and community institutions., Final Considerations: the support of official bodies is important for the control of tuberculosis; however, the profile of people's vulnerability is a determining factor for access to/destination of resources from these government social support programs.

Background: Non-compliance with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment is a reality. The objective of this study was to develop and validate an mobile device application for monitoring the treatment of LTBI., Methods: We defined the requirements, elaborated on the application's conceptual map, generated implementation and prototyping alternatives, and validated content., Results: Feedback on the validity of content were: "usefulness, consistency, clarity, objectivity, vocabulary, and precision" from professionals, and "clarity" from patients., Conclusions: The application proved to be easy to understand, according to the assessment of both professionals and people undergoing treatment for LTBI.

The objective was to analyze the diffusion of cases of yellow fever in time and space in the epidemic of 2017 in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. An ecological observational study was performed with spatial analysis of yellow fever cases. Georeferencing of information and spatial analysis used the digital grid for the state of Espírito Santo, divided into 78 municipalities (counties), using the Arcgis software, 10.3. Geostatistical analysis was performed using the ordinary kriging function. The study found an incidence of 4.85/100,000 inhabitants of sylvatic yellow fever in Espírito Santo in 2017, with 29.74% case-fatality. Sylvatic yellow fever cases were distributed across 34 of the state's 78 municipalities, representing 43% of its territory. The temporal distribution of reported yellow fever cases in the current study occurred from the 1st to the 19th Epidemiological Weeks (EW). The geostatistical spatial analysis via ordinary kriging demonstrated spatial diffusion by yellow fever contagion among the municipalities in the state of Espírito Santo, with spatial continuity. The disease emerged in the state in the EW 1 through municipalities bordering on the state of Minas Gerais. Geoprocessing showed that yellow fever reached the state of Espírito Santo through the municipalities bordering on the state of Minas Gerais, moving eastward in the state and reaching the Atlantic coastline. There was a higher concentration of cases and persistence in the state's Central and Metropolitan regions, which have areas of Atlantic Forest, showing a pattern of diffusion continuity by contagion.

Background: Favipiravir and Molnupiravir, orally available antivirals, have been reported to exert antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. First efficacy data have been recently reported in COVID-19 patients., Methods: We here report on the combined antiviral effect of both drugs in a SARS-CoV-2 Syrian hamster infection model. The infected hamsters were treated twice daily with the vehicle (the control group) or a suboptimal dose of each compound or a combination of both compounds., Findings: When animals were treated with a combination of suboptimal doses of Molnupiravir and Favipiravir at the time of infection, a marked combined potency at endpoint is observed. Infectious virus titers in the lungs of animals treated with the combination are reduced by ∼5 log10 and infectious virus are no longer detected in the lungs of >60% of treated animals. When start of treatment was delayed with one day a reduction of titers in the lungs of 2.4 log10 was achieved. Moreover, treatment of infected animals nearly completely prevented transmission to co-housed untreated sentinels. Both drugs result in an increased mutation frequency of the remaining viral RNA recovered from the lungs of treated animals. In the combo-treated hamsters, an increased frequency of C-to-T mutations in the viral RNA is observed as compared to the single treatment groups which may explain the pronounced antiviral potency of the combination., Interpretation: Our findings may lay the basis for the design of clinical studies to test the efficacy of the combination of Molnupiravir/Favipiravir in the treatment of COVID-19., Funding: stated in the acknowledgment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None to declare., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There are, besides remdesivir, no approved antivirals for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. To aid in the search for antivirals against this virus, we explored the use of human tracheal airway epithelial cells (HtAEC) and human small airway epithelial cells (HsAEC) grown at the air-liquid interface (ALI). These cultures were infected at the apical side with one of two different SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Each virus was shown to replicate to high titers for extended periods of time (at least 8 days) and, in particular an isolate with the D614G in the spike (S) protein did so more efficiently at 35 °C than 37 °C. The effect of a selected panel of reference drugs that were added to the culture medium at the basolateral side of the system was explored. Remdesivir, GS-441524 (the parent nucleoside of remdesivir), EIDD-1931 (the parent nucleoside of molnupiravir) and IFN (β1 and λ1) all resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of viral RNA and infectious virus titers collected at the apical side. However, AT-511 (the free base form of AT-527 currently in clinical testing) failed to inhibit viral replication in these in vitro primary cell models. Together, these results provide a reference for further studies aimed at selecting SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors for further preclinical and clinical development., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the impact of catastrophic costs on unfavorable tuberculosis treatment outcomes., Methods: This was a prospective cohort study, conducted in five Brazilian state capitals (Manaus, Recife, Vitória, Campo Grande and Porto Alegre) from June 2016 to July 2018. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI)., Results: Of the 350 participants, 310 were included, of whom 30 presented unfavorable outcomes. Catastrophic cost (OR=2.53 -95% CI 1.13;5.67) and divorce (OR=5.29 -95% CI 1.39;20.05) increased the chances of unfavorable outcomes., Conclusion: Financial difficulties during tuberculosis treatment may impair its outcome. Catastrophic cost and divorce were determining factors for treatment outcomes.

Objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have a high risk of acquiring tuberculosis infection (TBI). However, annual testing is resource-consuming. We aimed to develop a predictive model to identify HCWs best targeted for TBI screening., Methodology: We conducted a secondary analysis of previously published results of 708 HCWs working in primary care services in five Brazilian State capitals who underwent two TBI tests: tuberculin skin test and Quantiferon®-TB Gold in-tube. We used a classification and regression tree (CART) model to predict HCWs with negative results for both tests. The performance of the model was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC), cross-validated using the same dataset., Results: Among the 708 HCWs, 247 (34.9%) had negative results for both tests. CART identified that physician or a community health agent were twice more likely to be uninfected (probability = 0.60) than registered or aid nurse (probability = 0.28) when working less than 5.5 years in the primary care setting. In cross validation, the predictive accuracy was 68% [95% confidence interval (95%CI): 65 - 71], AUC was 62% (95%CI 58 - 66), specificity was 78% (95%CI 74 - 81), and sensitivity was 44% (95%CI 38 - 50)., Conclusion: Despite the low predictive power of this model, CART allowed to identify subgroups with higher probability of having both tests negative. The inclusion of new information related to TBI risk may contribute to the construction of a model with greater predictive power using the same CART technique.

Objectives: to develop an ICNP® terminology subset to care for people with tuberculosis., Methods: a methodological research that followed the following steps: identification and validation of empirical indicators of altered needs relevant to people with tuberculosis based on literature; cross-mapping of the empirical indicators of altered needs identified with ICNP® 2017 terms; construction of nursing diagnoses/outcomes and interventions; assessment of relevance of nursing diagnoses /outcomes and interventions and ICNP® terminology subset structuring., Results: an ICNP® terminology subset was developed to care for people with tuberculosis with 51 diagnoses/outcomes and 264 nursing interventions, assessed by nurses from Primary Health Care and structured according to Wanda Horta's Theory of Basic Human Needs., Final Considerations: the subset is a technological instrument through which it is possible to identify the elements of nursing practice from the affected human needs.

Background: The antifungal drug itraconazole exerts in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 in Vero and human Caco-2 cells. Preclinical and clinical studies are required to investigate if itraconazole is effective for the treatment and/or prevention of COVID-19., Methods: Due to the initial absence of preclinical models, the effect of itraconazole was explored in a clinical, proof-of-concept, open-label, single-center study, in which hospitalized COVID-19 patients were randomly assigned to standard of care with or without itraconazole. Primary outcome was the cumulative score of the clinical status until day 15 based on the 7-point ordinal scale of the World Health Organization. In parallel, itraconazole was evaluated in a newly established hamster model of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission, as soon as the model was validated., Findings: In the hamster acute infection model, itraconazole did not reduce viral load in lungs, stools or ileum, despite adequate plasma and lung drug concentrations. In the transmission model, itraconazole failed to prevent viral transmission. The clinical trial was prematurely discontinued after evaluation of the preclinical studies and because an interim analysis showed no signal for a more favorable outcome with itraconazole: mean cumulative score of the clinical status 49 vs 47, ratio of geometric means 1.01 (95% CI 0.85 to 1.19) for itraconazole vs standard of care., Interpretation: Despite in vitro activity, itraconazole was not effective in a preclinical COVID-19 hamster model. This prompted the premature termination of the proof-of-concept clinical study., Funding: KU Leuven, Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), Horizon 2020, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess the association between tuberculosis determinants and performance of directly observed treatment (DOT) under different levels of Family Health Strategy (FHS) coverage in Brazil., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data on tuberculosis cases notified between 2014 and 2016 on the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System, as well as data on FHS coverage in the municipality of residence. Logistic regression was used., Results: 177,626 individuals were included; being an alcohol user (odds ratio (OR) 1.09 - 95% confidence interval % [95%CI] 1.03;1.16), being deprived of liberty (OR=1.21 - 95%CI 1.12;1.32) and positive sputum smear microscopy (OR=1.15 - 95%CI 1.10;1.21) increased the chances of DOT being performed . When stratified by FHS coverage, these associations became weak in the highest stratum of coverage., Conclusion: DOT being performed was associated with determinants of tuberculosis. However, association was not confirmed among residents in municipalities with higher FHS coverage.

Background/objectives: Vietnam is undergoing a nutrition transition, which is leading to marked shifts in body size at the population level, but up-to-date data are lacking. We therefore quantified the prevalence of undernutrition (stunting and thinness) and overnutrition (overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity) in school-aged children in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMc), Vietnam, and compared this with previous estimates., Subjects/methods: A cross-sectional survey of 10,949 children (6-18 years old) from 30 schools in HCMc, Vietnam in 2014-2015 was used to ascertain the nutritional status of children and adolescents. Different international classification systems (WHO, IOTF, IOTF for Asian children) were used to assess the prevalence of under and overnutrition. Comparisons were made with previous surveys in HCMc., Results: Regardless of definitions used, the prevalence of overnutrition was high, particularly in primary school children (20-30% were overweight, 20-30% were obese, and 50% had abdominal obesity), in boys, and urban children. Undernutrition was more prevalent in high-school children (8% were stunted, and 6-18% were thin, versus 2 and 2-9% in primary children, respectively), and in rural areas. Comparisons with previous surveys indicated substantial increases in overnutrition and decreased in undernutrition since 2009 in all age groups., Conclusions: Overnutrition is increasingly common in school-aged children and adolescents in HCMc, while over and undernutrition continue to coexist. These findings highlight an urgent need for greater efforts to control malnutrition in children in HCMc.

Objectives: to develop and validate management tools for the systematization of nursing care for children with pressure injuries., Methods: methodological study in which the focus group technique was used for validation of tools in three different groups of 17 nurses. Conducted in April and May 2018 at a large pediatric hospital., Results: two management tools were developed. The first was the Nursing care systematization instrument for children with pressure injury with three parts: a) risk factors; b) Psychobiological Basic Human Needs; c) signs of wound infection. The second was the Flowchart of pressure injury risk and prevention in pediatric patients with three categories: a) risk factors; b) Braden Q scale; c) nursing care. Final Considerations: the tools will support nurses in the care of children with pressure injuries by aiming at an individualized and systematized assessment based on a theoretical framework.

Objective to describe the completeness of data on yellow fever notification forms in the municipalities of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, in 2017. Methods this is a descriptive ecological study with data from the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN); form completeness was categorized as poor (<70.0%), regular (70-89.9%) or excellent (≥90.0%); thematic maps were prepared. Results 53.1% of the municipalities had poor or regular classification for many notification form variables, especially case Final Classification (57.1%), Confirmation/Dismissal Criterion (63.2%) and Closure Date (26.5%), which are required fields. Conclusion completeness was poor or regular for several variables, pointing to the need for a systematic assessment of information on yellow fever held on SINAN.

Objective: to analyze the spatial distribution of syphilis cases in pregnancy and congenital syphilis cases, from 2011 to 2018., Methods: this was an ecological study applying spatial analysis of syphilis cases in pregnancy and congenital syphilis reported on the Notifiable Diseases Information System; TerraView 4.2.0 software was used., Results: seventy-eight municipalities were analyzed, and evidence of a significant cluster was found for syphilis in pregnant women (Moran index=0.38; p=0.01) and for congenital syphilis (Moran index=0.31; p=0.01) in the greater Vitória region and north coast municipalities; along the north and metropolitan coastal regions some 30 municipalities were identified as having higher occurrence of the outcomes, as well as some 14 municipalities with a high proportion of congenital syphilis and a low proportion of syphilis in pregnancy., Conclusion: the study identified places where interventions and prenatal care professional training need to be channeled, with the aim of controlling syphilis in pregnancy and congenital syphilis.

Aim: Low-dietary intake is a common problem and cause of malnutrition during hospitalisation. This study aims to determine the current dietary intake and food sources of hospitalised adults in Ho Chi Minh City., Methods: Participants were adult patients from six general public hospitals in a multi-site survey undertaken in 2016. Dietary intakes for all foods consumed in the previous day were collected via interview using the 24 hours recall method. Nutritional status was assessed using Subjective Global Assessment or BMI., Results: Data were collected from 887 participants. Most food consumed in hospital was from non-regulated foodservices. Food was self-provided and home-cooked (27.7%), bought from outside the hospital (13.6%), from the hospital canteen (16.8%) or a combination of these (39.4%). Only 1.3% of food was provided by the hospital. Energy intakes were very low with a median of 3550 kJ/day; and only 4.2% of participants met 100% of their energy requirements. Decreased appetite, fullness or restrictions due to medical indications were the most common reasons for low-dietary intake. Malnourished participants were 2.2 times more likely to have low-dietary intake compared to well-nourished participants., Conclusions: Non-regulated foodservices in hospital were not able to meet the dietary requirements of patients leading to hospital malnutrition. Standardisation of food from on-site canteens, covering meal costs from universal medical insurance, and developing guides for food provisioning for patients' families are potential solutions to improve patient nutritional status., (© 2018 Dietitians Association of Australia.)

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a theory-based foot care education intervention program (3STEPFUN) for people with type 2 diabetes at low risk of developing a foot ulcer., Methods: A controlled, pre-test/ post-test quasi-experimental design was used. From 119 participants, 60 participants in the control group received usual care and a foot care brochure. Those in the intervention group received (1) a small group intensive education and hands-on skills session; (2) a foot care kit and documents; and (3) three regular booster follow-up phone calls over 6 months. Generalised Estimating Equations models were undertaken to examine the impact of the intervention on outcomes over time., Results: The intervention group had significantly improved outcomes compared to the control group over 6 months in the following aspects: improved preventive foot care behaviour (p = 0.001); and decreased prevalence of foot risk factors for ulceration (i.e. dry skin, corns/ callus) (OR: 0.04, 95% CI 0.01 - 0.13, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: The study's findings provide evidence of 3STEPFUN on improving foot self-care behaviour and preventing minor foot problems. Further study with formal RCT design and longer follow-up time to examine the effects on decreasing foot ulcer incidence is recommended., (Crown Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: to analyze factors associated with cure when treating tuberculosis (TB) in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 2011 to 2014., Methods: this was a cross-sectional study with data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN); logistic regression was used for data analysis., Results: of the 57,142 cases reported, 49,691 (86.96%) were included in the study; schooling ≥13 years (odds ratio (OR) 3.48; 95%CI 2.74;4.41) and residing in rural areas (OR 2.27; 95%CI 1.38; 3.73) were factors associated with a higher chance of cure; being male (OR 0.71; 95%CI 0.66;0.76) and brown skin color/race (OR 0.73; 95%CI 0.68;0.78) stood out as factors associated with less chance of cure., Conclusion: social and economic determinants were identified that influence the treatment outcome, evidencing the need for social support and guaranteed access to health services.

Background/objectives: Hospital malnutrition is a common problem worldwide. This study aims to assess the validity of widely used nutritional screening tools for hospitalized adults in acute care settings in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam., Subjects/methods: Participants in this study were 693 adult patients from six general public hospitals, in a multi-center survey undertaken in April and May, 2016. The criterion validity of the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS-2002) and Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), modified MST (MST combined with low BMI), and BMI as independent tools were assessed using Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) or low BMI (<18.5 kg/m 2 ) as the reference method. Area under curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated using the ROC curve method to determine the validity of screening tools., Results: NRS-2002, modified MST (MST + low BMI), MUST, and BMI at 21 kg/m 2 showed moderate/fair validity compared to the reference method (SGA or BMI). MST alone and MNA-SF showed poor validity due to low sensitivity (41.8 and 35.0% for MST and MNA-SF, respectively)., Conclusions: Based on specificity and sensitivity, the first choice for the most appropriate screening tool for use in Vietnam is the NRS-2002, following by the MST + BMI, MUST, and BMI alone at the cut-off value of 21 kg/m 2 . Further investigation on the feasibility and acceptability are required to determine the most appropriate screening tools for use within the Vietnamese context.

Health care workers (HCW) are at increased risk of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) from occupational exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The objective was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for LTBI among primary HCW in five Brazilian cities. We conducted a cross-sectional study, from 2011 to 2013, among primary HCW, using a structured questionnaire and an evaluated for LTBI using the Quantiferon-TB Gold in-tube test. The magnitude of the associations was assessed using hierarchical logistic regression models. Among 708 HCW, the LTBI prevalence was 27% (n = 196; 95%CI: 24%-31%). We found that the following factors were positively associated with LTBI in primary HCW: age > 50 years (OR = 2.94; 95%CI: 1.44-5.99), absence of a BCG scar (OR = 2.10; 95%CI: 1.28-3.43), self-reported ex-smoker status (OR = 1.80; 95%CI: 1.04-3.11), being a nurse (OR = 2.97; 95%CI: 1.13-7.83), being a nurse technician (OR = 3.10; 95%CI: 1.26-7.60), being a community health agent (OR = 2.60; 95%CI: 1.06-6.40), and irregular use of N95 masks (OR = 2.51; 95%CI: 1.11-5.98). In contrast, HCWs who do not work in health care facilities with a TB control program were less likely to have LTBI (OR = 0.66; 95%CI: 0.45-0.97). This study demonstrated a substantial occupational risk of LTBI among primary HCW in Brazil. The Brazilian TB control program, as well as local programs, need to target these high-risk HCW with education, as well as with better personal protective equipment to prevent acquisition of new TB infection.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of and determine the risk factors associated with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among primary health care workers in the city of Vitória, Brazil., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with data collected through a survey regarding socio-demographic, occupational, clinical, and exposure characteristics, as well as knowledge about tuberculosis, conducted between 2011 and 2012. All participants underwent a tuberculin skin test (TST), and TSTs were read at 72 h by a trained professional., Results: A total of 218 primary health care workers participated in the study. The prevalence of TST positivity at the ≥ 10-mm and ≥ 5-mm cut-off points was, respectively, 39.4% (95% CI: 32.9-45.9) and 54.1% (95% CI: 47.4-60.7). Regarding occupational categories, community health agents had the highest proportion of TST positivity, regardless of the cut-off point (≥ 10 mm: 47.5%; and ≥ 5 mm: 60.5%). Regarding factors associated with TST results, "having had a previous TST" showed a statistically significant association with TST positivity at the ≥ 10-mm and ≥ 5-mm cut-off points (OR = 2.5 [95% CI: 1.17-5.30] and OR = 2.18 [95% CI: 1.23-3.87], respectively)., Conclusions: The prevalence of LTBI was found to be high among the primary health care workers in this sample. Therefore, we recommend the establishment of a periodic screening program for LTBI and implementation of effective biosafety policies for the prevention of this infection among primary health care workers.