Risk factors for early TB treatment interruption among newly diagnosed patients in Malaysia

TB treatment interruption has resulted in delayed sputum conversion, drug resistance, and a high mortality rate and a prolonged treatment course, hence leading to economic and psychosocial affliction. To date, there are limited studies investigating the physico-social risk factors for early treatment interruptions. This prospective multicenter cohort study aimed to investigate the risk factors for early treatment interruption among new pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) smear-positive patients in Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 439 participants were recruited from 39 public treatment centres, 2018–2019. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed to analyse the risk factors for early treatment interruption. Of 439 participants, 104 (23.7%) had early treatment interruption, with 67.3% of early treatment interruption occurring in the first month of treatment. Being a current smoker and having a history of hospitalization, internalized stigma, low TB symptoms score, and waiting time spent at Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course centre were risk factors for early treatment interruption. An appropriate treatment adherence strategy is suggested to prioritize the high-risk group with high early treatment interruption. Efforts to quit smoking cessation programs and to promote stigma reduction interventions are crucial to reduce the probability of early treatment interruption.

proportion and risk factors of fatal outcomes among severely and critically ill COVID-19 patients: A hospital experience, Baghdad, Iraq 2021

Background: Severe forms of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) were found among 6 - 10% of all COVID-19 patients. Acute respiratory distress syndrome ARDS is non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema manifested by the rapid development of shortness of breath, tachypnea, and hypoxemia. Patients’ outcomes after critical care for COVID-19 have not been adequately documented in this low-resource environment, despite advocacy for prevention and response measures in low- and middle-income countries. Objectives: To highlight the rate of severe illness among COVID-19 patients and its associated factors in Al-Imam Ali Hospital, Baghdad-Iraq 2021. Patients and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study on cases with severe and critical COVID-19 illness (with ARDS) admitted to the isolation ward in Al-Imam Ali Hospital from 23 March to 23 May, 2021. All COVID-19 patients admitted in a severe or critical state were included. A data collection form was filled by the researcher. The P value of < 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Ethical Approval was obtained. Results: A total of 504 severely ill COVID-19 patients were included in this study. There were 71 (14.1%) patients below 45 years of age. Males formed 40.9% of patients while that of females was 59.1%. Fever was the presenting symptom in 381 (75.6%) patients, 197 (39.1%) patients had anosmia, and 192 (38.1%) had ageusia. There were 358 (71.0%) survivors while 146 (29.0%) died. Patients aged 65 years or more had more possible risk for death than those below 65 years (OR=1.14, 95% CI =0.6-2.2). Female gender appeared to be protective compared to male gender (OR=0.52, 95% CI =0.35-0.77). Ex-smokers had a higher risk than non-smoker and current smokers (OR for ex-smoker=4.38, 95% CI 2.6-7.5), and (OR for current smoker=1.7, 95% CI 0.98-3). Renal disease was found to be a risk factor leading to death (OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.73-5.1). Diabetes Mellitus, respiratory diseases, and solid cancer showed a high risk for death, [OR=2.3, 95% CI=1.4-4; OR=1.7; 95% CI=1.1-2.9, OR=8, 95% CI=3.3-19 respectively]. Patients with three comorbidities had a higher mortality risk, OR=1.6, 95% CI=1.3-2. Conclusion: This study concluded that mortality of severely and critically ill COVID-19 patients was 29%, and males and older patients were risk factors for death. In addition to; ex-smoker, alcoholic, and patients with baseline comorbidities appeared to be risk factors for mortality. Finally; laboratory tests and Pao2/Fio2 ratio can be used to predict the outcome.

Trends and correlates of hardcore smoking in India: findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Surveys 1 & 2

Background: Data on prevalence of hardcore smoking (HCS) among different socioeconomic status (SES) groups in low- and middle-income countries are limited. We looked at the prevalence and pattern of HCS in India with the following objectives: 1) to analyse the association between SES and HCS, 2) to find trends in HCS in different SES groups and 3) to find state-wide variations in hardcore smoking. Methods: Data of individuals aged ≥25 years from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India 2009-10 (N= 9223) and 2016-17 (N= 7647) were used for this study. If an individual met all the following criteria: (1) current smoker, (2) smokes 10 or more cigarettes/day, (3) smokes first puff within 30 minutes after waking up, (4) no quit attempt in last 12 months, (5) no intention to quit at all or in the next 12 months, (6) lack of knowledge of harmful effect of smoking, s/he was identified as a hardcore smoker. Multiple regression analysis was done to find the factors associated with HCS. Results: Prevalence of HCS deceased from 2.5% in GATS 1 to 1.9% in GATS 2: males from 6.2% to 3.9% and females from 0.3% to 0.2%. Compared to the richest group the poorest, poor and those who belonged to the middle-income group were more likely to report HCS in GATS 1 and 2. However, only in the poorest SES group there was an increase in the proportion of hardcore smokers in GATS 2 compared to GATS 1. Other factors that were significantly associated with HCS in both surveys were male gender, working adults, those with lower education, early initiation of smoking and households without any rules for smoking inside the home. Conclusions: Tobacco control and cessation efforts need to focus on individuals of poor SES groups particularly in the high prevalence Indian states.

Association Between the Triglyceride–Glucose Index and the Incidence of Diabetes in People With Different Phenotypes of Obesity: A Retrospective Study

AimWe aimed to examine the relationship between the Triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people with different phenotypes of obesity.MethodsFrom May 1, 1994 to December 31, 2016, 15,464 participants were enrolled in the medical examination program at the Murakami Memorial Hospital to determine the relationship between the TyG index and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people with different phenotypes of obesity after 5.38 years of follow-up.ResultsBesides triglycerides, HbA1c%, and FPG, the incidence of type 2 diabetes was found to be significantly associated with the TyG index (p &lt;0.001), age (p &lt;0.001), BMI (p = 0.033), current smoker (p &lt;0.001), and fatty liver (p &lt;0.001). In participants with visceral fat obesity and/or ectopic fat obesity and normal BMI, the TyG index was significantly associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes after adjusting for confounding factors. In patients with BMI ≥25 mg/m2, although there was a trend of the relationship between the TyG index and the incidence of type 2 diabetes, the relationship was no longer positive.ConclusionIn participants with obesity involving visceral fat obesity and/or fatty liver and normal BMI which is not a measure of body fat distribution, there was a significant association between the TyG index and incidence of T2DM.

Predictors of renal infarction in patients presenting to the emergency department with flank pain: A retrospective observational study

Objectives Flank pain is a common symptom in the emergency department and can be caused by a variety of diseases. Renal infarction (RI) is a very rare disease, and many RI patients complain of flank pain. However, there is no definitive predictor of RI when patients complain of flank pain. This study aimed to identify the clinical factors for predicting RI in patients with flank pain. Methods This retrospective single-center study was conducted on patients complaining of flank pain from January 2016 to March 2020 at a South Korean tertiary care hospital. Exclusion criteria included patients who did not undergo contrast-enhanced computed tomography, age < 18 years, and trauma. Demographic and laboratory data were obtained from medical records. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of RI occurrence. Results In all, 2,131 patients were enrolled, and 39 (1.8%) had RI. From a multivariable logistic regression analysis, an age ≥ 65 years (odds ratio [OR], 3.249; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.366–7.725; p = 0.008), male sex (OR, 2.846; 95% CI, 1.190–6.808; p = 0.019), atrial fibrillation (OR, 10.386; 95% CI, 3.724–28.961; p < 0.001), current smoker (OR, 10.022; 95% CI, 4.565–22.001; p < 0.001), and no hematuria (OR, 0.267; 95% CI, 0.114–0.628; p = 0.002) were significantly associated with the occurrence of RI. Conclusions Five clinical factors, i.e., age ≥ 65 years, male sex, atrial fibrillation, current smoker, and no hematuria, were significantly associated with the occurrence of RI in patients with flank pain.

Factors associated with breastfeeding initiation and continuation in Canadian-born and non-Canadian-born women: a multi-centre study

Objective: To identify factors associated with breastfeeding initiation and continuation in Canadian-born and non-Canadian-born women. Design: Prospective cohort of mothers and infants born from 2008–2012: the CHILD Cohort Study. Setting: General community setting in four Canadian provinces. Participants: 3455 pregnant women from Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Toronto between 2008 and 2012. Results: Of 3010 participants included in this study, the majority were Canadian-born (75.5%). Breastfeeding initiation rates were high in both non-Canadian-born (95.5%) and Canadian-born participants (92.7%). The median breastfeeding duration was 10 months in Canadian-born participants and 11 months in non-Canadian-born participants. Among Canadian-born participants, factors associated with breastfeeding initiation and continuation were older maternal age, higher maternal education, living with their partner, and recruitment site. Rooming-in during the hospital stay was also associated with higher rates of breastfeeding initiation, but not continuation at 6-months postpartum. Factors associated with non-initiation of breastfeeding and cessation at 6-months postpartum were maternal smoking, living with a current smoker, cesarean birth, and early-term birth. Among non-Canadian-born participants, maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with lower odds of breastfeeding initiation, and lower odds of breastfeeding continuation at 6 months, and older maternal age and recruitment site were associated with breastfeeding continuation at 6 months. Conclusions: Although Canadian-born and non-Canadian-born women in the CHILD cohort have similar breastfeeding initiation rates, breastfeeding initiation and continuation are more strongly associated with sociodemographic characteristics in Canadian-born participants. Recruitment site was strongly associated with breastfeeding continuation in both groups and may indicate geographic disparities in breastfeeding rates nationally.

Patient-reported experiences and outcomes following two different approaches for non-surgical periodontal treatment: a randomized field study

Context The current report is part of a prospective, multi-center, two-arm, quasi-randomized field study focusing on the effectiveness in general praxis of evidence-based procedures in the non-surgical treatment of patients with periodontitis. Objective The specific aims were to (i) evaluate patient-reported experience and outcome measures of treatment following a guided approach to periodontal infection control (GPIC) compared to conventional non-surgical therapy (CNST) and to (ii) identify potential predictors of subjective treatment outcomes and patient’s adherence to self-performed infection control, i.e. adequate oral hygiene. Methods The study sample consisted of 494 patients treated per protocol with questionnaire- and clinical data at baseline and 6-months. The GPIC approach (test) comprised patient education for adequate oral hygiene prior to a single session of full-mouth ultra-sonic instrumentation, while the CNST approach (control) comprised education and instrumentation (scaling and root planing) integrated at required number of consecutive appointments. Clinical examinations and treatment were performed by Dental Hygienists, i.e. not blinded. Data were processed with bivariate statistics for comparison between treatment groups and with multiple regression models to identify potential predictors of subjective and clinical outcomes. The primary clinical outcome was gingival bleeding scores. Results No substantial differences were found between the two treatment approaches regarding patient-reported experiences or outcomes of therapy. Patients’ experiences of definitely being involved in therapy decisions was a significant predictor for a desirable subjective and clinical outcome in terms of; (i) that oral health was considered as much improved after therapy compared to how it was before, (ii) that the treatment definitively had been worth the cost and efforts, and (iii) adherence to self-performed periodontal infection control. In addition, to be a current smoker counteracted patients’ satisfaction with oral health outcome, while gingival bleeding scores at baseline predicted clinical outcome in terms of bleeding scores at 6-months. Conclusions The results suggest that there are no differences with regard to patient-reported experiences and outcomes of therapy following a GPIC approach to periodontal infection control versus CNST. Patients’ experiences of being involved in therapy decisions seem to be an important factor for satisfaction with care and for adherence to self-performed periodontal infection control. Registered at: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02168621).

Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline in Older Adults in Puerto Rico: Assessing Bias From Sample Attrition

Many risk factors for cognitive decline are associated with mortality and are common among older adults who cannot complete a survey interview. Our objective was to compare analyses of risk factors for cognitive decline among older adults in Puerto Rico with and without accounting for sample attrition. Data came from the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions Study. Our sample included 3,437 participants interviewed in 2002/03. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental Caban (MMC). The outcome was the change in MMC score between 2002/03 and 2006/07. Logistic regression was used to estimate inverse probability weights for being interviewed in 2006/07 (n=3,028) and completing the MMC at follow-up (n=2,601). Linear regression models were used to assess the association between stroke, hypertension, diabetes, smoking status, and cognitive decline with and without the IPWs. In the unweighted analysis, stroke was associated with a significantly greater decline in cognition (b=-0.62, standard error [SE]=0.30, p=0.04). Hypertension (b=-0.02, SE=0.12, p=0.84), diabetes (b=-0.22, SE=0.13, p=0.10) and being a current (b=0.05, SE=0.22, p=0.84) or former smoker (b=0.05, SE=0.14, 0.74) were not associated with cognitive decline in the unweighted analysis. The results were similar when including the IPW for mortality (stroke b=-0.63; hypertension b=-0.03; diabetes: b=-0.20; current smoker: b=0.08; former smoker: b=0.07) and having completed the MMC at follow-up (stroke b=-0.58; hypertension b=-0.03; diabetes: b=-0.20; current smoker: b=0.03; former smoker: b=0.09). These findings indicate that stroke is a risk factor for cognitive decline among older Puerto Rican adults even after accounting for selective attrition.

Smoking Modulates Different Secretory Subpopulations Expressing SARS-CoV-2 Entry Genes in the Nasal and Bronchial Airways

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity are influenced by viral entry (VE) gene expression patterns in airway epithelium. The similarities and differences of VE gene expression (ACE2, TMPRSS2, and CTSL) across nasal and bronchial compartments has not been fully characterized using matched samples from large cohorts. Results: Gene expression data from 793 nasal and 1,673 bronchial brushes obtained from individuals participating in lung cancer screening or diagnostic workup revealed that smoking was the only clinical factor significantly and reproducibly associated with VE gene expression. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression were higher in smokers in the bronchus but not in the nose. scRNA-seq of nasal brushings indicated that ACE2 co-expressed genes were highly expressed in club and C15orf48+ secretory cells while TMPRSS2 co-expressed genes were highly expressed in keratinizing epithelial cells. In contrast, these ACE2 and TMPRSS2 modules were highly expressed in goblet cells in scRNA-seq from bronchial brushings. Cell-type deconvolution of the RNA-seq confirmed that smoking increased the abundance of several secretory cell populations in the bronchus, but only goblet cells in the nose. Conclusions: The association of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 with smoking in the bronchus is due to their high expression in goblet cells which increase in abundance in current smoker airways. In contrast, in the nose these genes are not predominantly expressed in cell populations modulated by smoking. Smoking-induced VE gene expression changes in the nose likely has minimal impact on SARS-CoV-2 infection, but in the bronchus, smoking may lead to higher viral loads and more severe disease.

Clinical Factors Associated with Cavitary Tuberculosis and Its Treatment Outcomes

Cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is associated with poor outcomes, treatment recurrence, higher transmission rates, and the development of drug resistance. However, reports on its clinical characteristics, associated factors, and treatment outcomes are lacking. Hence, this study sought to evaluate the clinical factors associated with cavitary pulmonary TB and its treatment outcomes. We retrospectively evaluated 410 patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary TB in a university hospital in Korea between 2014 and 2019. To evaluate the factors associated with cavitary TB, multivariable logistic regression was performed with adjustments for potential confounders. We also compared the treatment outcomes between patients with cavitary TB and those without cavitary TB. Of the 410 patients, 244 (59.5%) had non-cavitary TB and 166 (40.5%) had cavitary TB. Multivariable logistic analysis with forward selection method showed that body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81–0.97), previous history of TB (adjusted OR = 3.45, 95% CI: 1.24–9.59), ex- or current smoker (adjusted OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.01–3.13), diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.36–5.44), and positive results on the initial sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear (adjusted OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.26–3.98) were significantly associated with cavitary TB. Although treatment duration was significantly longer in patients with cavitary TB than in those with non-cavitary TB (248 (102–370 days) vs. 202 (98–336 days), p < 0.001), the recurrence rate after successful treatment was significantly higher in the patients with cavitary TB than in those with non-cavitary TB (0.4% vs. 3.0% p = 0.042). In conclusion, ex- or current smoker, lower BMI, previous history of TB, diabetes mellitus, and positivity of the initial AFB smear were associated with cavitary TB. The patients with cavitary TB had more AFB culture-positive results at 2 months, longer treatment duration, and higher recurrence rates than those with non-cavitary TB.