Background Aging increases the risk of tuberculosis (TB) and its adverse outcomes, but most studies are based on secondary analyses, and few are in Hispanics. Diabetes is a risk factor for TB in ...adults, but its contribution in the elderly is unknown. We aimed to identify the role of diabetes and other risk factors for TB in elderly Hispanics. Methods Cross-sectional study among newly-diagnosed TB patients, recent contacts (ReC), or community controls (CoC) totaling 646 participants, including 183 elderly (>60 years; 43 TB, 80 ReC, 60 CoC) and 463 adults (18 to 50 years; 80 TB, 301 ReC and 82 CoC). Host characteristics associated with TB and latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) were identified in the elderly by univariable and confirmed by multivariable logistic regression. Results LTBI was more prevalent among the elderly CoC (55% vs. 23.2% in adults; p<0.001), but not in ReC (elderly 71.3% vs. adult 63.8%); p = 0.213). Risk factors for TB in the elderly included male sex (adj-OR 4.33, 95% CI 1.76, 10.65), smoking (adj-OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.01, 6.45) and low BMI (adj-OR 12.34, 95% CI 4.44, 34.33). Unexpectedly, type 2 diabetes was not associated with TB despite its high prevalence (adj-OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.06, 2.38), and BCG vaccination at birth was protective (adj-OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.06, 0.45). Conclusions We report novel distinctions in TB risk factors in the elderly vs. adults, notably in diabetes and BCG vaccination at birth. Further studies are warranted to address disparities in this vulnerable, understudied population.
Interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs) are used to detect latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection (LTBI) in adults, but their performance in older people is not well-established. We ...evaluated IGRAs for LTBI detection in older Hispanic recent TB contacts (ReC) or community controls (CoC).
Cross-sectional assessment of LTBI with T-SPOT.TB and/or QuantiFERON-Gold in-tube or –Plus assay in older (≥60 years) and adult (18–50 years) Hispanic people.
We enrolled 193 CoC (119 adults, 74 older persons) and 459 ReC (361 adults, 98 older persons). LTBI positivity increased with age in CoC (19%–59%, P<0.001), but was similar in ReC (59%–69%, P=0.329). Older people had lower concordance between IGRAs (kappa 0.465 vs 0.688 in adults) and more inconclusive results (indeterminate/borderline 11.6% vs 5.8% in adults, P=0.012). With simultaneous IGRAs, inconclusive results were resolved as positive or negative with the other IGRA. The magnitude of response to M.tb peptides in IGRAs was similar among age groups, but responsiveness to mitogens was lower in older people.
IGRAs are suitable for LTBI detection in older people. Discordant and inconclusive findings are more prevalent in older people, but results are resolved when IGRA is repeated with a different IGRA test.
To estimate the contribution of clinically-confirmed diabetes mellitus to tuberculosis (TB) rates in communities where both diseases are prevalent as a way to identify opportunities for TB prevention ...among diabetic patients.
This is a prospective study in which TB patients ≥ 20 years old at TB clinics in the Texas-Mexico border were tested for diabetes. The risk of tuberculosis attributable to diabetes was estimated from statistics for the corresponding adult population.
The prevalence of diabetes among TB patients was 39% in Texas and 36% in Mexico. Diabetes contributed 25% of the TB cases studied, whereas human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributed 5% or fewer. Among TB patients, fewer Mexicans than Texans were aware that they had diabetes before this study (4% and 19%, respectively). Men were also less frequently aware than women that they had diabetes (P = 0.03). Patients who knew that they had diabetes before the study had an 8-year history of the disease, on average, before being diagnosed with TB.
Patients with diabetes are at higher risk of contracting TB than non-diabetic patients. Integrating TB and diabetes control programmes worldwide would facilitate TB prevention among diabetes patients and increase the number of diabetics who learn of their condition, particularly among males. Such a strategy would lead to earlier case detection and improve the management of both TB and diabetes.
the sensitivity of the interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection or disease may be affected by immune dysregulation in diabetes. As millions of ...type 2 diabetes patients are at risk for tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, it is important to determine if the sensitivity of IGRAs is compromised in this vulnerable population.
the sensitivity of the IGRAs QuantiFERON®-TB Gold (QFT-G) and T-SPOT®.TB was evaluated among specimens from newly diagnosed adults with microbiologically confirmed TB with and without diabetes. We also evaluated the association between QFT-G results and diabetes-associated conditions (dyslipidemia, obesity).
QFT-G sensitivity was 70% among TB patients. Patients with diabetes, chronic hyperglycemia or overweight/obesity were more than twice as likely to have positive test results in multivariate models (P < 0.05). Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or high triglycerides were not associated with assay results. In a separate group of TB patients (n = 43), T-SPOT.TB was 93% sensitive, with similar performance in patients with and without diabetes.
IGRA sensitivity is not compromised by diabetes in TB patients. Accordingly, IGRAs may also be suitable for diagnosing TB infection in diabetes patients, which is required to assess TB risk.
Summary Rapid tuberculosis (TB) detection is critical for disease control, and further quantitation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) in sputum is valuable for epidemiological and clinical ...studies. We evaluated a simple, robust and cost-efficient in-house DNA extraction and downstream Taqman approach for detection and quantitation of Mtb genomes from sputum of newly-diagnosed TB patients and non-TB controls. DNA was extracted using guanidine isothiocyanate and silica-based spin columns in less than 2 h, stored frozen, and Taqman assays were used to detect Mtb with IS6110 and quantify it targeting RD1 and IS1081. The Taqmans had a sensitivity >95% in 108 culture-confirmed TB patients and specificity of 100% in 43 non-TB controls. Genome counts were correlated with the Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tubes’ (MGIT) time-to-detection values (1/TTD × 1000; rho = 0.66; p < 0.001) in 91 TB patients (33 excluded with MGIT contamination). This linear relationship was nearly identical between mycobacteria isolated from sputum and H37Rv Mtb grown in-vitro to its log phase. TB treatment between 3 and 7 days was associated with lower 1/TTD × 1000 values but not with genome counts. Together, our protocol provides rapid, specific, inexpensive and quantitative detection of Mtb DNA in fresh or stored sputa making it a robust tool for prompt TB diagnosis, and with potential use for clinical and epidemiologic studies.
Introduction
Diabetes knowledge among TB patients can contribute to improved TB treatment outcomes, but lack of diabetes diagnosis awareness is a limitation in developing countries. Given its low ...cost, the sensitivity of urine glucose dipsticks for diabetes screening in TB patients was assessed.
Methods
Glycosuria was assessed in 90 newly diagnosed TB patients (38 with diabetes) in south Texas, USA (n = 20) and northeast Mexico (n = 70) during January 2009-December 2010.
Results
Glycosuria was detected in 65% of the diabetic patients with chronic hyperglycemia (positive predictive value 91%, negative predictive value 84%).
Conclusion
We propose that TB clinics with limited budgets where portable glucometers may not be available conduct universal screening for diabetes with urine dipsticks. This could be followed by blood glucose or HbA1c testing in the subset of patients requiring confirmation or higher sensitivity assessment, to improve the comanagement of TB and diabetes.
Metodos En este estudio prospectivo se realizaron diversas pruebas de deteccion de la diabetes, en pacientes con TB, con una edad igual o superior a 20 anos, procedentes de clinicas para la ...tuberculosis situadas en la frontera entre Texas y Mexico. El riesgo de tuberculosis atribuible a la diabetes se calculo a partir de las estadisticas para la poblacion adulta correspondiente.
Probiotics are effective for treating acute infectious diarrhoea caused by bacteria, but there are inconsistent results for the effectiveness of probiotics for diarrhoea caused by viruses. In this ...article we want to determine whether Sb supplementation has an effect on acute inflammatory viral diarrhoea diagnosed with the multiplex panel PCR test. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) as a treatment in patients diagnosed with viral acute diarrhoea.
From February 2021 to December 2021, 46 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of viral acute diarrhoea diagnosed with the polymerase chain reaction multiplex assay were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Patients received paracetamol 500 mg as a standard analgesic and 200 mg of Trimebutine as an antispasmodic treatment plus 600 mg of Sb (n = 23, 1 × 109/100 mL Colony forming unit) or a placebo (n = 23) orally once daily for eight days. The improvement in and severity of symptoms were measured using a symptom diary, the Patient Global Impression and the Patient Global Impression of Change scales (days 4 and 8), both answered and recorded by the patient.
Of the 46 patients who completed treatment, 24 (52%) were men and 22 (48%) were women. The average age was 35.6 ± 12.28 years (range 18 to 61 years). The average duration of the evolution of illness at the time of diagnosis was 0.85 ± 0.73 days (maximum 2 days). On day 4 after the diagnosis, 20% reported pain and 2% reported fever, but on day 8, no patient reported pain or fever. On day 4, 70% of patients in the Sb group and 26% in the placebo group reported improvement (P = 0.03), based on the Patients' Global Impression of Change scale, which assesses patient's rating of overall improvement. These findings suggest that 3 to 4 days of treatment with Sb helped to improve symptoms of diarrhoea caused by a virus.
Treatment with Sb on acute inflammatory diarrhoea of viral aetiology shows no changes regarding the severity of the symptoms; nevertheless, it seems to impact improvement positively.
22CEI00320171130 dated on 16/12/2020, NCT05226052 dated on 07/02/2022.
The presence of skin bacteria capable of forming biofilm, exhibiting antibiotic resistance, and displaying virulence represents a significant challenge in the field of transfusion medicine. This ...underscores the necessity of enhancing the microbiological safety of blood and blood components against pathogens with virulent characteristics. The aim of this work was to demonstrate bacterial inactivation in plasma by using a photoinactivation method against virulent bacteria and to evaluate coagulation factors before and after treatment. Logarithmic loads of biofilm-producing, antibiotic-resistant, and virulent bacteria isolated from skin (Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella ozaenae, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) were used in artificial contamination assays of fresh frozen plasma bags and subjected to photoreduction. FVIII and FI activity were evaluated before and after photoinactivation. The photoinactivation of plasma was demonstrated to be an effective method for the elimination of these bacteria. However, the efficiency of this method was found to be dependent on the bacterial load and the type of test microorganism. Conversely, decay of coagulation factors was observed with net residual activities of 61 and 69% for FVIII and FI, respectively. The photoinactivation system could have a bias in its effectiveness that is dependent on the test pathogen. These findings highlight the importance of employing technologies that increase the safety of the recipient of blood and/or blood components, especially against virulent bacteria, and show the relevance of the role of photoinactivation systems as an option in transfusion practice.
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