Browsing by Author "Sanjase N"

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A mixed methods study on men's and women's tuberculosis care journeys in Lusaka, Zambia-Implications for gender-tailored tuberculosis health promotion and case finding strategies.
(2023) Kerkhoff AD; Mwamba C; Pry JM; Kagujje M; Nyangu S; Mateyo K; Sanjase N; Chilukutu L; Christopoulos KA; Muyoyeta M; Sharma A; Division of Epidemiology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.; Department of Internal Medicine, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
Men and women with undiagnosed tuberculosis (TB) in high burden countries may have differential factors influencing their healthcare seeking behaviors and access to TB services, which can result in delayed diagnoses and increase TB-related morbidity and mortality. A convergent, parallel, mixed-methods study design was used to explore and evaluate TB care engagement among adults (≥18 years) with newly diagnosed, microbiologically-confirmed TB attending three public health facilities in Lusaka, Zambia. Quantitative structured surveys characterized the TB care pathway (time to initial care-seeking, diagnosis, and treatment initiation) and collected information on factors influencing care engagement. Multinomial multivariable logistic regression was used to determine predicted probabilities of TB health-seeking behaviors and determinants of care engagement. Qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs; n = 20) were conducted and analyzed using a hybrid approach to identify barriers and facilitators to TB care engagement by gender. Overall, 400 TB patients completed a structured survey, of which 275 (68.8%) and 125 (31.3%) were men and women, respectively. Men were more likely to be unmarried (39.3% and 27.2%), have a higher median daily income (50 and 30 Zambian Kwacha [ZMW]), alcohol use disorder (70.9% [AUDIT-C score ≥4] and 31.2% [AUDIT-C score ≥3]), and a history of smoking (63.3% and 8.8%), while women were more likely to be religious (96.8% and 70.8%) and living with HIV (70.4% and 36.0%). After adjusting for potential confounders, the probability of delayed health-seeking ≥4 weeks after symptom onset did not differ significantly by gender (44.0% and 36.2%, p = 0.14). While the top reasons for delayed healthcare-seeking were largely similar by gender, men were more likely to report initially perceiving their symptoms as not being serious (94.8% and 78.7%, p = 0.032), while women were more likely to report not knowing the symptoms of TB before their diagnosis (89.5% and 74.4%; p = 0.007) and having a prior bad healthcare experience (26.4% and 9.9%; p = 0.036). Notably, women had a higher probability of receiving TB diagnosis ≥2 weeks after initial healthcare seeking (56.5% and 41.0%, p = 0.007). While men and women reported similar acceptability of health-information sources, they emphasized different trusted messengers. Also, men had a higher adjusted probability of stating that no one influenced their health-related decision making (37.9% and 28.3%, p = 0.001). In IDIs, men recommended TB testing sites at convenient community locations, while women endorsed an incentivized, peer-based, case-finding approach. Sensitization and TB testing strategies at bars and churches were highlighted as promising approaches to reach men and women, respectively. This mixed-methods study found important differences between men and women with TB in Zambia. These differences suggest the need for gender-tailored TB health promotion, including addressing harmful alcohol use and smoking among men, and sensitizing HCWs to prolonged delays in TB diagnosis among women, and also using gender-specific approaches as part of community-based, active case-finding strategies to improve TB diagnosis in high burden settings.
A Prospective Evaluation of the Diagnostic Accuracy of the Point-of-Care VISITECT CD4 Advanced Disease Test in 7 Countries.
(2025-Feb-04) Gils T; Hella J; Jacobs BKM; Sossen B; Mukoka M; Muyoyeta M; Nakabugo E; Van Nguyen H; Ubolyam S; Macé A; Vermeulen M; Nyangu S; Sanjase N; Sasamalo M; Dinh HT; Ngo TA; Manosuthi W; Jirajariyavej S; Denkinger CM; Nguyen NV; Avihingsanon A; Nakiyingi L; Székely R; Kerkhoff AD; MacPherson P; Meintjes G; Reither K; Ruhwald M; School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.; German Centre for Infection Research, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.; Viet Tiep Hospital, Hai Phong, Viet Nam.; Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, Nonthaburi, Thailand.; National Lung Hospital, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.; Taksin Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.; Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.; Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.; Public Health Group, Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.; Ifakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.; Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.; Clinical Research Unit, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland.; Department of Pathology, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.; HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre and Center of Excellence in Tuberculosis, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.; Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the Global Alliance for Diagnostics, Geneva, Switzerland.; Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.; Division of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.; Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
BACKGROUND: CD4 measurement is pivotal in the management of advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. VISITECT CD4 Advanced Disease (VISITECT; AccuBio, Ltd) is an instrument-free, point-of-care, semiquantitative test allowing visual identification of CD4 ≤ 200 cells/µL or >200 cells/ µL from finger-prick or venous blood. METHODS: As part of a diagnostic accuracy study of FUJIFILM SILVAMP TB LAM, people with HIV ≥18 years old were prospectively recruited in 7 countries from outpatient departments if a tuberculosis symptom was present, and from inpatient departments. Participants provided venous blood for CD4 measurement using flow cytometry (reference standard) and finger-prick blood for VISITECT (index text), performed at point-of-care. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of VISITECT to determine CD4 ≤ 200 cells/ µL were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 1604 participants, the median flow cytometry CD4 was 367 cells/µL (interquartile range, 128-626 cells/µL) and 521 (32.5%) had CD4 ≤ 200 cells/µL. VISITECT sensitivity was 92.7% (483/521; 95% confidence interval [CI], 90.1%-94.7%) and specificity was 61.4% (665/1083; 95% CI, 58.4%-64.3%). For participants with CD4 0-100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-500, and >500 cells/µL, VISITECT misclassified 4.5% (95% CI, 2.5%-7.2%), 12.5 (95% CI, 8.0%-18.2%), 74.1% (95% CI, 67.0%-80.5%), 48.0% (95% CI, 42.5%-53.6%), and 22.6% (95% CI, 19.3%-26.3%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: VISITECT's sensitivity, but not specificity, met the World Health Organization's minimal sensitivity and specificity threshold of 80% for point-of-care CD4 tests. VISITECT's quality needs to be assessed and its accuracy optimized. VISITECT's utility as CD4 triage test should be investigated. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT04089423.
Engagement of private health care facilities in TB management in Lusaka district of Zambia: lessons learned and achievements.
(2024-Mar-14) Hambwalula R; Kagujje M; Mwaba I; Musonda D; Singini D; Mutti L; Sanjase N; Kaumba PC; Ziko LM; Zimba KM; Kasese-Chanda P; Muyoyeta M; Division of Health, United States Agency for International Development, Lusaka, Zambia.; TB department, Centre of Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Plot # 34620 Off Alick Nkhata Road, Mass Media, P.O. Box 34681, Lusaka, 10101, Zambia. Mary.Kagujje@cidrz.org.; Lusaka District Health Office, Ministry of Health, Great East Road, Lusaka, Zambia.; TB department, Centre of Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Plot # 34620 Off Alick Nkhata Road, Mass Media, P.O. Box 34681, Lusaka, 10101, Zambia.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
BACKGROUND: Globally, at least 3 million TB patients are missed every year. In Zambia, the TB treatment coverage increased from 66% in 2020 to 92% in 2022. Involvement of all levels of health care service delivery is critical to finding all the missing TB patients. METHODS: A survey was undertaken in 15 private facilities in Lusaka district of Zambia using a structured tool administered by project team and a district health team member. Data collected during the survey was analysed and results were used to determine the type of TB services that were offered as well as barriers and enablers to TB service provision. This was followed by a set of interventions that included; training and mentorship on active case finding and systematic TB screening, increased diagnostic capacity, provision of national recording and reporting tools and provision of TB medication through linkage with the National TB program (NTP). We report findings from the baseline survey and changes in presumptive TB identification and notification following interventions. RESULTS: Major barriers to TB service delivery were the high cost of TB diagnostic testing and treatment in facilities where services were not supported by the National TB program; the mean cost was 33 (SD 33) and 93 (SD 148) for GeneXpert testing and a full course of treatment respectively. Pre-intervention, presumptive TB identification appeared to increase monthly by 4 (P = 0.000, CI=[3.00-5.00]). The monthly trends of presumptive TB identification during the intervention period increased by 5.32 (P = 0.000, [CI 4.31-6.33. Pre-intervention, the notification of TB appeared to decrease every month by -4.0 (P = 0.114, CI=[-9.00-0.10]) followed by an immediate increase in notifications of 13.94 TB patients (P = 0.001, CI [6.51, 21.36] in the first month on intervention. The monthly trends of notification during the intervention period changed by 0.34 (P = 0.000 [CI 0.19-0.48]). Private facility contribution to TB notification increased from 3 to 7%. CONCLUSION: Engagement and inclusion of private health facilities in TB service provision through a systems strengthening approach can increase contribution to TB notification by private health facilities.
Expanding molecular diagnostic coverage for tuberculosis by combining computer-aided chest radiography and sputum specimen pooling: a modeling study from four high-burden countries.
(2024) Codlin AJ; Vo LNQ; Garg T; Banu S; Ahmed S; John S; Abdulkarim S; Muyoyeta M; Sanjase N; Wingfield T; Iem V; Squire B; Creswell J; Stop TB Partnership, Geneva, Switzerland.; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.; Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom.; Janna Health Foundation, Yola, Nigeria.; icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; Friends for International TB Relief, Hanoi, Viet Nam.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
BACKGROUND: In 2022, fewer than half of persons with tuberculosis (TB) had access to molecular diagnostic tests for TB due to their high costs. Studies have found that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) software for chest X-ray (CXR) interpretation and sputum specimen pooling can each reduce the cost of testing. We modeled the combination of both strategies to estimate potential savings in consumables that could be used to expand access to molecular diagnostics. METHODS: We obtained Xpert testing and positivity data segmented into deciles by AI probability scores for TB from the community- and healthcare facility-based active case finding conducted in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Viet Nam, and Zambia. AI scores in the model were based on CAD4TB version 7 (Zambia) and qXR (all other countries). We modeled four ordinal screening and testing approaches involving AI-aided CXR interpretation to indicate individual and pooled testing. Setting a false negative rate of 5%, for each approach we calculated additional and cumulative savings over the baseline of universal Xpert testing, as well as the theoretical expansion in diagnostic coverage. RESULTS: In each country, the optimal screening and testing approach was to use AI to rule out testing in deciles with low AI scores and to guide pooled vs individual testing in persons with moderate and high AI scores, respectively. This approach yielded cumulative savings in Xpert tests over baseline ranging from 50.8% in Zambia to 57.5% in Nigeria and 61.5% in Bangladesh and Viet Nam. Using these savings, diagnostic coverage theoretically could be expanded by 34% to 160% across the different approaches and countries. CONCLUSIONS: Using AI software data generated during CXR interpretation to inform a differentiated pooled testing strategy may optimize TB diagnostic test use, and could extend molecular tests to more people who need them. The optimal AI thresholds and pooled testing strategy varied across countries, which suggests that bespoke screening and testing approaches may be needed for differing populations and settings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44263-024-00081-2.
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards childhood tuberculosis among healthcare workers at two primary health facilities in Lusaka, Zambia.
(2024) Kaumba PC; Siameka D; Kagujje M; Chungu C; Nyangu S; Sanjase N; Maimbolwa MM; Shuma B; Chilukutu L; Muyoyeta M; Catholic Relief Services, Ibex, Lusaka.; Centre of Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Mass Media, Lusaka, Zambia.
BACKGROUND: Zambia is among the 30 high-burden countries for tuberculosis (TB), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-associated TB, and multi-drug resistant/rifampicin resistant TB with over 5000 children developing TB every year. However, at least 32% of the estimated children remain undiagnosed. We assessed healthcare workers' (HCWs) knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards childhood TB and the factors associated with good KAP towards childhood TB. METHODS: Data was collected at two primary healthcare facilities in Lusaka, Zambia from July to August 2020. Structured questionnaires were administered to HCWs that were selected through stratified random sampling. Descriptive analysis was done to determine KAP. A maximum knowledge, attitude, and practice scores for a participant were 44, 10, and 8 points respectively. The categorization as either "poor" or "good" KAP was determined based on the mean/ median. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between participant characteristics and KAP at statistically significant level of 0.05%. RESULTS: Among the 237 respondents, majority were under 30 years old (63.7%) and were female (72.6%). Half of the participants (50.6%) were from the outpatient department (OPD) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic, 109 (46.0) had been working at the facility for less than 1 year, 134 (56.5%) reported no previous training in TB. The median/mean KAP scores were 28 (IQR 24.0-31.0), 7 (IQR = 6.0-8.0) and 5 points (SD = 1.9) respectively. Of the participants, 43.5% (103/237) had good knowledge, 48.1% (114/237) had a good attitude, and 54.4% (129/237) had good practice scores on childhood TB. In the multivariate analysis, clinical officers and individuals with 1-5 years' work experience at the facility had higher odds, 2.61 (95% CI = 1.18-5.80, p = 0.018) and 3.09 (95% CI = 1.69-5.65, p = 0.001) of having good attitude respectively, and medical doctors had 0.17 lower odds (95% CI = 0.18-5.80, p = 0.018) of good childhood TB practice. Other participant characteristics didn't show a significant association with the scores. CONCLUSION: The study found suboptimal levels of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding childhood TB among HCWs. Targeted programmatic support needs to be provided to address the above gaps.
Pathways to care and preferences for improving tuberculosis services among tuberculosis patients in Zambia: A discrete choice experiment.
(2021) Kerkhoff AD; Kagujje M; Nyangu S; Mateyo K; Sanjase N; Chilukutu L; Eshun-Wilson I; Geng EH; Havlir DV; Muyoyeta M; University Teaching Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America.; Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
BACKGROUND: Delays in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) contribute to a substantial proportion of TB-related mortality, especially among people living with HIV (PLHIV). We sought to characterize the diagnostic journey for HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients with a new TB diagnosis in Zambia, to understand drivers of delay, and characterize their preferences for service characteristics to inform improvements in TB services. METHODS: We assessed consecutive adults with newly microbiologically-confirmed TB at two public health treatment facilities in Lusaka, Zambia. We administered a survey to document critical intervals in the TB care pathway (time to initial care-seeking, diagnosis and treatment initiation), identify bottlenecks and their reasons. We quantified patient preferences for a range of characteristics of health services using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that assessed 7 attributes (distance, wait times, hours of operation, confidentiality, sex of provider, testing incentive, TB test speed and notification method). RESULTS: Among 401 patients enrolled (median age of 34 years, 68.7% male, 46.6% HIV-positive), 60.9% and 39.1% were from a first-level and tertiary hospital, respectively. The median time from symptom onset to receipt of TB treatment was 5.0 weeks (IQR: 3.6-8.0) and was longer among HIV-positive patients seeking care at a tertiary hospital than HIV-negative patients (6.4 vs. 4.9 weeks, p = 0.002). The time from symptom onset to initial presentation for evaluation accounted for the majority of time until treatment initiation (median 3.0 weeks, IQR: 1.0-5.0)-an important minority of 11.0% of patients delayed care-seeking ≥8 weeks. The DCE found that patients strongly preferred same-day TB test results (relative importance, 37.2%), facilities close to home (18.0%), and facilities with short wait times (16.9%). Patients were willing to travel to a facility up to 7.6 kilometers further away in order to access same-day TB test results. Preferences for improving current TB services did not differ according to HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged intervals from TB symptom onset to treatment initiation were common, especially among PLHIV, and were driven by delayed health-seeking. Addressing known barriers to timely diagnosis and incorporating patients' preferences into TB services, including same-day TB test results, may facilitate earlier TB care engagement in high burden settings.
Patient Preferences for Strategies to Improve Tuberculosis Diagnostic Services in Zambia.
(2022-Aug-01) Kerkhoff AD; Chilukutu L; Nyangu S; Kagujje M; Mateyo K; Sanjase N; Eshun-Wilson I; Geng EH; Havlir DV; Muyoyeta M; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; Department of Internal Medicine, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.; Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
IMPORTANCE: Delayed engagement in tuberculosis (TB) services is associated with ongoing transmission and poor clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether patients with TB have differential preferences for strategies to improve the public health reach of TB diagnostic services. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in which a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was administered between September 18, 2019, and January 17, 2020, to 401 adults (>18 years of age) with microbiologically confirmed TB in Lusaka, Zambia. The DCE had 7 attributes with 2 to 3 levels per attribute related to TB service enhancements. Latent class analysis was used to identify segments of participants with unique preferences. Multiscenario simulations were used to estimate shares of preferences for different TB service improvement strategies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The main outcomes were patient preference archetypes and estimated shares of preferences for different strategies to improve TB diagnostic services. Collected data were analyzed between January 3, 2022, to July 2, 2022. RESULTS: Among 326 adults with TB (median [IQR] age, 34 [27-42] years; 217 [66.8%] male; 158 [48.8%] HIV positive), 3 groups with distinct preferences for TB service improvements were identified. Group 1 (192 participants [58.9%]) preferred a facility that offered same-day TB test results, shorter wait times, and financial incentives for testing. Group 2 (83 participants [25.4%]) preferred a facility that provided same-day TB results, had greater privacy, and was closer to home. Group 3 (51 participants [15.6%]) had no strong preferences for service improvements and had negative preferences for receiving telephone-based TB test results. Groups 1 and 2 were more likely to report at least a 4-week delay in seeking health care for their current TB episode compared with group 3 (29 [51.3%] in group 1, 95 [35.8%] in group 2, and 10 [19.6%] in group 3; P < .001). Strategies to improve TB diagnostic services most preferred by all participants were same-day TB test results alone (shares of preference, 69.9%) and combined with a small financial testing incentive (shares of preference, 79.3%), shortened wait times (shares of preference, 76.1%), or greater privacy (shares of preference, 75.0%). However, the most preferred service improvement strategies differed substantially by group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, patients with TB had heterogenous preferences for TB diagnostic service improvements associated with differential health care-seeking behavior. Tailored strategies that incorporate features most valued by persons with undiagnosed TB, including same-day results, financial incentives, and greater privacy, may optimize reach by overcoming key barriers to timely TB care engagement.
Prospective Multi-Site Validation of AI to Detect Tuberculosis and Chest X-Ray Abnormalities.
(2024-Oct) Kazemzadeh S; Kiraly AP; Nabulsi Z; Sanjase N; Maimbolwa M; Shuma B; Jamshy S; Chen C; Agharwal A; Lau CT; Sellergren A; Golden D; Yu J; Wu E; Matias Y; Chou K; Corrado GS; Shetty S; Tse D; Eswaran K; Liu Y; Pilgrim R; Muyoyeta M; Prabhakara S; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia.; Advanced Clinical, Deerfield, IL.; Google, Mountain View, CA, USA.
BACKGROUND: Using artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret chest X-rays (CXRs) could support accessible triage tests for active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in resource-constrained settings. METHODS: The performance of two cloud-based CXR AI systems - one to detect TB and the other to detect CXR abnormalities - in a population with a high TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden was evaluated. We recruited 1978 adults who had TB symptoms, were close contacts of known TB patients, or were newly diagnosed with HIV at three clinical sites. The TB-detecting AI (TB AI) scores were converted to binary using two thresholds: a high-sensitivity threshold and an exploratory threshold designed to resemble radiologist performance. Ten radiologists reviewed images for signs of TB, blinded to the reference standard. Primary analysis measured AI detection noninferiority to radiologist performance. Secondary analysis evaluated AI detection as compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) targets (90% sensitivity, 70% specificity). Both used an absolute margin of 5%. The abnormality-detecting AI (abnormality AI) was evaluated for noninferiority to a high-sensitivity target suitable for triaging (90% sensitivity, 50% specificity). RESULTS: Of the 1910 patients analyzed, 1827 (96%) had conclusive TB status, of which 649 (36%) were HIV positive and 192 (11%) were TB positive. The TB AI's sensitivity and specificity were 87% and 70%, respectively, at the high-sensitivity threshold and 78% and 82%, respectively, at the balanced threshold. Radiologists' mean sensitivity was 76% and mean specificity was 82%. At the high-sensitivity threshold, the TB AI was noninferior to average radiologist sensitivity (P<0.001) but not to average radiologist specificity (P=0.99) and was higher than the WHO target for specificity but not sensitivity. At the balanced threshold, the TB AI was comparable to radiologists. The abnormality AI's sensitivity and specificity were 97% and 79%, respectively, with both meeting the prespecified targets. CONCLUSIONS: The CXR TB AI was noninferior to radiologists for active pulmonary TB triaging in a population with a high TB and HIV burden. Neither the TB AI nor the radiologists met WHO recommendations for sensitivity in the study population. AI can also be used to detect other CXR abnormalities in the same population.
Prospective multicentre accuracy evaluation of the FUJIFILM SILVAMP TB LAM test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in people living with HIV demonstrates lot-to-lot variability.
(2024) Székely R; Sossen B; Mukoka M; Muyoyeta M; Nakabugo E; Hella J; Nguyen HV; Ubolyam S; Chikamatsu K; Macé A; Vermeulen M; Centner CM; Nyangu S; Sanjase N; Sasamalo M; Dinh HT; Ngo TA; Manosuthi W; Jirajariyavej S; Mitarai S; Nguyen NV; Avihingsanon A; Reither K; Nakiyingi L; Kerkhoff AD; MacPherson P; Meintjes G; Denkinger CM; Ruhwald M; Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.; HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre and Centre of Excellence in Tuberculosis, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.; Viet Tiep Hospital, Hai Phong, Viet Nam.; Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, Nonthaburi, Thailand.; National Lung Hospital, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.; Taksin Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.; Department of Mycobacterium Reference and Research, Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Tokyo, Japan.; Public Health Group, Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.; Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Ifakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.; FIND, The Global Alliance for Diagnostics, Geneva, Switzerland.; Department of Pathology, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.; Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.; Division of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.; Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland.; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner site Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.; Division of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town and National Health Laboratory Service, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
There is an urgent need for rapid, non-sputum point-of-care diagnostics to detect tuberculosis. This prospective trial in seven high tuberculosis burden countries evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the point-of-care urine-based lipoarabinomannan assay FUJIFILM SILVAMP TB LAM (FujiLAM) among inpatients and outpatients living with HIV. Diagnostic performance of FujiLAM was assessed against a mycobacterial reference standard (sputum culture, blood culture, and Xpert Ultra from urine and sputum at enrollment, and additional sputum culture ≤7 days from enrollment), an extended mycobacterial reference standard (eMRS), and a composite reference standard including clinical evaluation. Of 1637 participants considered for the analysis, 296 (18%) were tuberculosis positive by eMRS. Median age was 40 years, median CD4 cell count was 369 cells/ul, and 52% were female. Overall FujiLAM sensitivity was 54·4% (95% CI: 48·7-60·0), overall specificity was 85·2% (83·2-87·0) against eMRS. Sensitivity and specificity estimates varied between sites, ranging from 26·5% (95% CI: 17·4%-38·0%) to 73·2% (60·4%-83·0%), and 75·0 (65·0%-82·9%) to 96·5 (92·1%-98·5%), respectively. Post-hoc exploratory analysis identified significant variability in the performance of the six FujiLAM lots used in this study. Lot variability limited interpretation of FujiLAM test performance. Although results with the current version of FujiLAM are too variable for clinical decision-making, the lipoarabinomannan biomarker still holds promise for tuberculosis diagnostics. The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04089423).
The accuracy of point-of-care C-Reactive Protein as a screening test for tuberculosis in children.
(2024) Kagujje M; Nyangu S; Maimbolwa MM; Shuma B; Sanjase N; Chungu C; Kerkhoff AD; Creswell J; Muyoyeta M; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.; Innovations and Grants, Stop TB Partnership, Geneva, Switzerland.; Tuberculosis Department, Centre of Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia.; Zambia Paediatric Association, Lusaka, Zambia.
Systematic screening for TB in children, especially among those at high risk of TB, can promote early diagnosis and treatment of TB. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended C-Reactive Protein as a TB screening tool in adults and adolescents living with HIV (PLHIV). Thus, we aimed to assess the performance of point-of-care (POC) CRP as a screening tool for TB in children. A cross-sectional study was conducted at 2 primary health care facilities in Lusaka, Zambia between September 2020 -August 2021. Consecutive children (aged 5-14 years) presenting for TB services were enrolled irrespective of TB symptoms. All participants were screened for the presence of TB symptoms and signs, asked about TB contact history, and undertook a POC CRP test, chest X-ray, and sputum Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra test. The accuracy of CRP (≥10 mg/L cutoff) was determined using a microbiological reference standard (MRS) and a composite reference standard (CRS). Of 280 children enrolled and with complete results available, the median age was 10 years (IQR 7-12), 56 (20.0%) were HIV positive, 228 (81.4%) had a positive WHO symptom screen for TB, 62 (22.1%) had a close TB contact, and 79 (28.2%) had a positive CRP POC test. Five (1.8%) participants had confirmed TB, 71 (25.4%) had unconfirmed TB, and 204 (72.3%) had unlikely TB. When the MRS was used, the sensitivity of CRP was 80.0% (95%CI: 28.4-99.5%) and the specificity was 72.7% (95%CI: 67.1-77.9%). When the CRS was used, the sensitivity of CRP was 32.0% (95%CI: 23.3% - 42.5%), while the specificity was 74.0% (95%CI: 67.0% - 80.3%). Using the CRS, there were no statistically significant differences in sensitivity and specificity of CRP in the HIV positive and HIV negative individuals. Among children in Zambia, POC CRP had limited utility as a screening tool for TB. There remains a continued urgent need for better tools and strategies to improve TB detection in children.
Urine-Xpert Ultra for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in people living with HIV: a prospective, multicentre, diagnostic accuracy study.
(2024-Dec) Sossen B; Székely R; Mukoka M; Muyoyeta M; Nakabugo E; Hella J; Van Nguyen H; Ubolyam S; Erkosar B; Vermeulen M; Centner CM; Nyangu S; Sanjase N; Sasamalo M; Dinh HT; Ngo TA; Manosuthi W; Jirajariyavej S; Nguyen NV; Avihingsanon A; Kerkhoff AD; Denkinger CM; Reither K; Nakiyingi L; MacPherson P; Meintjes G; Ruhwald M; Division of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; National Health Laboratory Service, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.; Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; Viet Tiep Hospital, Hai Phong, Viet Nam.; Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, Nonthaburi, Thailand.; National Lung Hospital, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.; Taksin Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Wellcome Center for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Public Health Group, Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme, Blantyre, Malawi; Department of Pathology, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.; Wellcome Center for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Ifakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.; Public Health Group, Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme, Blantyre, Malawi; School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.; HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand; Center of Excellence in Tuberculosis, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.; FIND, Geneva, Switzerland; Division of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; German Centre for infection Research (DZIF), partner site Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.; Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.; FIND, Geneva, Switzerland.; FIND, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: morten.ruhwald@finddx.org.; Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
BACKGROUND: Diagnostic delays for tuberculosis are common, with high resultant mortality. Urine-Xpert Ultra (Cepheid) could improve time to diagnosis of tuberculosis disease and rifampicin resistance. We previously reported on lot-to-lot variation of the Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM. In this prespecified secondary analysis of the same cohort, we aimed to determine the diagnostic yield and accuracy of Urine-Xpert Ultra for tuberculosis in people with HIV, compared with an extended microbiological reference standard (eMRS) and composite reference standard (CRS) and also compared with Determine TB LAM Ag (AlereLAM, Abbott). METHODS: In this prospective, multicentre, diagnostic accuracy study, we recruited consecutive inpatients and outpatients (aged ≥18 years) with HIV from 13 hospitals and clinics in seven countries (Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Viet Nam, and Zambia). Patients with no isoniazid preventive therapy in the past 6 months and fewer than three doses of tuberculosis treatment in the past 60 days were included. Reference and index testing was performed in real time. The primary outcome of this secondary analysis was the diagnostic yield and accuracy of Urine-Xpert Ultra compared with the eMRS and CRS. Diagnostic accuracy was compared with AlereLAM and diagnostic yield was compared with both AlereLAM and Sputum-Xpert Ultra. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04089423, and is complete. FINDINGS: Between Dec 13, 2019, and Aug 5, 2021, 3528 potentially eligible individuals were screened and 1731 were enrolled, of whom 1602 (92·5%) were classifiable by the eMRS (median age 40 years [IQR 33-48], 838 [52·3%] of 1602 were female, 764 [47·7%] were male, 937 [58·5%] were outpatients, 665 [41·5%] were inpatients, median CD4 count was 374 cells per μL [IQR 138-630], and 254 [15·9%] had microbiologically confirmed tuberculosis). Against eMRS as reference, sensitivities of Urine-Xpert Ultra and AlereLAM were 32·7% (95% CI 27·2-38·7) and 30·7% (25·4-36·6) and specificities were 98·0% (97·1-98·6) and 90·4% (88·7-91·8), respectively. Against CRS as reference, sensitivities of Urine-Xpert Ultra and AlereLAM were 21·1% (95% CI 17·6-25·1), and 30·5% (26·4-34·9), and specificities were 99·1% (98·3-99·6) and 95·1% (93·5-96·3), respectively. The combination of Sputum-Xpert Ultra with AlereLAM or Urine-Xpert Ultra diagnosed 202 (77·1%) and 204 (77·9%) of 262 eMRS-positive participants, respectively, in incompletely overlapping groups; combining all three tests diagnosed 214 (81·7%) of 262 eMRS-positive participants INTERPRETATION: Urine-Xpert Ultra could offer promising clinical utility in addition to AlereLAM and Sputum-Xpert Ultra. In inpatient settings where both AlereLAM and Urine-Xpert Ultra are possible, both should be offered to support rapid diagnosis and treatment. FUNDING: Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, KfW Development Bank, Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.