Fatality Case in a Tuberculous Meningoencephalitis Patient Coinfected with COVID-19

: Tuberculous meningoencephalitis (TBM) is the most severe, life-threatening form of tuberculosis that contributes to as much as 5% of cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Emerging at the end of 2019, COVID-19 has been shown to affect various organs, including the brain. In this case report, a 21-year-old woman diagnosed with TBM, being in the intensive phase of tuberculous therapy, came with dysphagia and dysphonia as new complaints felt one day before admission accompanied by a positive meningeal sign, diplopia, and cephalgia, which became heavier after previously getting better. Cough and fever followed this complaint two days before admission. About the laboratory results, the PCR was positive for COVID-19, and CT scans showed increased leptomeningeal enhancement when compared with CT scan one month earlier. The patient received intravenous dexamethasone, anti-tuberculosis drugs, phenytoin, aspirin, oseltamivir, and hydroxychloroquine. The patient died four days after being hospitalized due to respiratory failure. This case report shows the coinfection of COVID-19 and TBM resulting in a poor tuberculosis treatment response and outcome.

The Role of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Translating Lesia Ukrainka’s Works into English

The article deals with the English translations of Lesia Ukrainka’s works. The author considers the new approaches to translation that emerged after the Cultural turn in the last part of the 20th century. In particular, the attention has been paid to the issues of migration and translation, negation of the Eurocentric ideas about translation, and translation as a constituent part for the formation of migrant’s community. Considering the chronology of the translation of Lesia Ukrainka’s works into English, it is argued that as a rule they were done by the Ukrainian diaspora and published in the periodicals, financed by the Ukrainian communities in Great Britain, the USA, and Canada. The most intensive phase of the popularization of poetess’s works in English happened to be during the middle of the last century. This could be explained by the nature of the third wave of migration, which occurred after World War II. This wave brought the highly politicized people, who tried to oppose the Soviet regime. They used literature to oppose the Soviet appropriation of the Ukrainian cultural heritage. Besides the Ukrainian diaspora have utilized the native fictional discourse to maintain the boundaries and consciousness of their collectivity.

Melioidosis: A Neglected Infection in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is an example of a highly populous, agricultural country where melioidosis may be a significantly under diagnosed cause of infection and death. A recent regression model predicted 16,931 cases annually in Bangladesh with a mortality rate of 56%. However, we only manage to confirm (culture) around 80 cases in last 60 years. A lack of awareness among microbiologists and clinicians and a lack of diagnostic microbiology infrastructure are factors that are likely to lead to the underreporting of melioidosis. Melioidosis transmits through inoculation, inhalation and ingestion. Diabetes mellitus is the most common risk factor (12 times higher chance of getting the infection) predisposing individuals to melioidosis and is present in >50% of all patients. The clinical presentation is widely varied and can be mistaken for other diseases such as tuberculosis or more common forms of pneumonia giving rise to its nickname as the “great mimicker”. Disease manifestations vary from pneumonia or localized abscess to acute septicemias, or may present as a chronic infection. Culture is considered the current gold-standard for diagnosis and culture-confirmation should always be sought in patients where disease is suspected. It is strongly recommended that any non–Pseudomonas aeruginosa, oxidase-positive, Gram-negative bacillus isolated from any clinical specimen from a patient in an endemic area should be suspected to be Burkholderia pseudomallei (BP). In addition, based on antibiogram, any Gramnegative bacilli that are oxidase-positive, typically resistant to aminoglycosides (e.g., gentamicin), colistin, and polymyxin but sensitive to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid should be considered as BP. This bacteria is inherently resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, first generation and second-generation cephalosporins, gentamicin, tobramycin, streptomycin, and polymyxin. For intensive phase (10 to 14 days), ceftazidime or carbapenem is the drug of choice. For eradication phase (3 to 6 months), oral trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole is the drug of choice. Surgery (drainage of abscess) has an important role in the management of melioidosis. Preventive measures through protective gears could be useful particularly for the risk groups. J MEDICINE 2021; 22: 139-145

Clinical, laboratory and radiological associations with extending of the intensive phase of treatment in patients with first diagnosed infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis

Despite the availability of medical services, timely detection of pulmonary tuberculosis, before the appearance of destructive changes, is often difficult. The management of patients with an infiltrative form in a hospital setting does not always guarantee the same positive effect and sometimes requires prolongation of therapy. The effectiveness of therapy can be associated with various factors and is of interest to study. The aim of this work was to study the effectiveness of standard therapy in patients with first diagnosed infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis, clinical laboratory and radiological associations with prolongation of the intensive phase of treatment. Materials and methods. The study involved 109 men from 18 to 53 years old with first diagnosed infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis with preserved MBT sensitivity to 1-st line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Patients were examined before and after 60 doses of the intensive phase of treatment, after which two groups were formed. Group 1 included patients with pronounced positive clinical and radiological dynamics, who entered the continuation phase of therapy. Group 2 included patients with insufficient clinical and radiological dynamics, for whom the intensive phase of treatment was extended to 90 doses. Results. Weak dynamics in patients who needed prolongation of treatment was associated with the characteristics of the initial data of patients in this group compared with similar indicators in Group 1. These were a reliably higher frequency of symptoms of intoxication and coughing, a reliably greater number of patients excreting mycobacterium tuberculosis in large quantities in sputum, with reliably high blood concentrations of haptoglobin and ceruloplasmin levels. Conclusions. Patients requiring prolongation of the intensive phase of treatment are characterized by an initially higher prevalence of infiltrative changes in the lungs, a small number of lung lesions limited to 2 segments, the presence of destructive changes in 100 % of cases, and a significant increase in the factors of the systemic inflammatory response

Socialization of self-care guidelines for tuberculosis patients at UPT Pulmonary Health Services in West Kalimantan Province

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can harm the lungs and attack other organs. This will result in nursing issues, the risk of infection spreading to other organs and people, ineffective airway clearance, impaired gas exchange, nutritional disorders, and psychosocial problems. Efforts are made to overcome nursing problems by increasing the participation of patients and families, who serve as the primary supporters. The intervention performed by the patient as an agent for himself is known as self-care. Self-care is concerned with an individual's ability to care for and maintain his or her own health. Treatment, family support, and nutritional fulfillment are all part of TB treatment. The outcomes of service activity at UPT Pulmonary Health Services includes teaching health workers about self-care for TB patients, as well as conducting follow-up discussions about TB patients with anxiety in the intensive phase.

Sputum Smear Non-conversion at the End of Intensive Phase of Tuberculosis Treatment at a Tertiary Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional study

Introduction: Sputum non-conversion is smear positive tuberculosis despite anti-tubercular therapy. Various factors may lead to sputum non-conversion including resistance to anti-tubercular drugs, age, gender, disease severity, non-compliance, drugs unavailability etc. Little is known and studied about the contribution of these individual factors. Our study sought to determine the prevalence of sputum smear non-conversion in patients at the end of intensive phase of tuberculosis treatment visiting a tertiary-level institution in Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among recorded data of patients undergoing sputum Acid Fast Bacilli staining at the end of intensive phase at National Tuberculosis Control Center from April 2018 to April 2020. The study was approved by Nepal Health Research Council (Registration no: 76012020 P). The convenient sampling method was adopted. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Results: Our study found that out of 830 samples that were tested by Acid Fast Bacilli stain at the end of intensive phase, 40 (4.82%) (3.37-6.28 at 95% Confidence Interval) were sputum smear non-converters. The mean age of sputum non-converters was 41.25±15.543 years. Conclusions: The study shows that a significant proportion of patients remain acid-fast stain positive despite the treatment. However, the proportion is low compared to other similar studies around the globe. This study provides program managers with evidence to support the development of more tailored tuberculosis care and need to conduct more intensive studies about various factors that may lead to non-conversion.

Efficacy and safety of short course chemotherapy regimens in older children and adolescents with multiple and extensive drug resistant respiratory tuberculosis

The objective of the study: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of short course chemotherapy regimens for multiple/extensive drug resistant tuberculosis of the respiratory system (MDR/XDR) in older children and adolescents.Subjects and Methods. A cohort prospective controlled study (2017 to 2019) included 23 patients from 13 to 17 years old with various clinical forms of respiratory tuberculosis with multiple/extensive drug resistance.Results. In 22 out of 23 cases, the following chemotherapy regimen was used: 6 months - the intensive phase / 6 months - the continuation phase, in one patient – 3 months of the intensive phase / 9 months of the continuation phase. In 15 out of 23 cases, the chemotherapy regimens in the intensive phase, taking into account the MBT drug sensitivity test, consisted of 5 drugs, in 8 cases – of 4 drugs. During the continuation phase, all patients received 3 drugs. Of the 23 patients, 8 patients used bedaquiline in short course chemotherapy regimens: 2 – 1 course, 6 – 2 courses.Conclusion. The possibility of reducing the main course of chemotherapy for MDR/XDR TB in children and adolescents to 12 months instead of 18-24 months has been proved.