RESUMEN
Introduction: tuberculosis remains a major public health problem, with continuing high levels of prevalence, and mortality. In Niger, the incidence of tuberculosis remains high. This study aims to investigate the epidemiology of pulmonary tuberculosis at the National Anti-Tuberculosis Center of Niamey in Niger. Methods: this study used a quantitative approach with a retrospective and descriptive design. Data were obtained from positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases detected by microscopy on Ziehl-Neelsen stained sputum at the National Anti-Tuberculosis Center (NATC) in Niamey, Niger covered the period between June 2017 and January 2020. 955 pulmonary TB patients were recorded whose diagnosis was based either on clinical-radiological arguments (thus negative microscopy) or positive microscopy. This form was used to collect data recorded in the clinical case registers, registers, and Excel files of the GeneXpert platform of the NATC laboratory. Results: eighty-nine-point eleven percent (89.11%) of the patients were microscopy-positive. Among the study population, men were the most affected by tuberculosis with 80.03%. The 25-34 age group, representing 23.77%, was the most affected. 6.93% of patients were co-infected with tuberculosis and HIV. All patients were put on treatment, with a therapeutic success rate of 72.38% and a therapeutic failure rate of 10.95%. Among the cases of therapeutic failure, 80.90% had Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex detected and 27.14% were resistant to Rifampicin. Conclusion: Niger continues to have a tuberculosis epidemic which requires monitoring. Improving the diagnostic system for more effective management of the disease is important for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
Asunto(s)
Antituberculosos , Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Tuberculosis Pulmonar , Humanos , Estudios Retrospectivos , Masculino , Niger/epidemiología , Femenino , Adulto , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/tratamiento farmacológico , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/epidemiología , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/diagnóstico , Antituberculosos/farmacología , Antituberculosos/administración & dosificación , Adulto Joven , Persona de Mediana Edad , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/aislamiento & purificación , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/efectos de los fármacos , Adolescente , Resultado del Tratamiento , Niño , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Preescolar , Anciano , Tuberculosis Resistente a Múltiples Medicamentos/epidemiología , Tuberculosis Resistente a Múltiples Medicamentos/tratamiento farmacológico , Tuberculosis Resistente a Múltiples Medicamentos/diagnóstico , Esputo/microbiología , Prevalencia , Coinfección/epidemiología , Coinfección/tratamiento farmacológico , Lactante , IncidenciaRESUMEN
Evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts tuberculosis (TB) activities. As TB and COVID-19 have similar symptoms, we assessed the effectiveness of integrated TB/COVID-19 screening in Guinea and Niger. From May to December 2020, TB screening was offered to symptomatic patients after a negative COVID-19 PCR test or after recovery from COVID-19 in Guinea. From December 2020 to March 2021, all presumptive COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms were tested simultaneously for COVID-19 and TB in Niger. We assessed the TB detection yield and used micro-costing to estimate the costs associated with both screening algorithms. A total of 863 individuals (758 in Guinea, and 105 in Niger), who were mostly male (60%) and with a median age of 34 (IQR: 26-45), were screened for TB. Reported symptoms were cough ≥2 weeks (49%), fever (45%), and weight loss (30%). Overall, 61 patients (7%) tested positive for COVID-19 (13 in Guinea, 48 in Niger) and 43 (4.9%) were diagnosed with TB disease (35 or 4.6% in Guinea, and 8 or 7.6% in Niger). The cost per person initiating TB treatment was USD $367 in Guinea and $566 in Niger. Overall, the yield of both approaches was high, and the cost was modest. Optimizing integrated COVID-19/TB screening may support maintaining TB detection during the ongoing pandemic.