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Objective: This study aimed to translate, determine the comprehensibility and examine the linguistic equivalence of a Luganda Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire (OMDQ MTS) among patients undergoing chemotherapy. Design: This was a validation study design in which bilingual patients who were receiving chemotherapy at Uganda cancer institute and had experienced some sort of oral discomfort after the start of their treatment were asked to complete OMDQ MTS Luganda followed by the English version on the same visit. The tools were administered at least two hours apart and had different item order. Results and Conclusions: Fifty participants accepted to take part by completing both versions of OMDQ MTS data. All item mean score differences between the two versions were less than ±0.25. The Cronbach's α for the Luganda and English versions were 0.78 and 0.86 based on standardized items while Guttman's lambada 2 and 3 were 0.89 and 0.79 respectively. A translated Luganda version of OMDQ MTS is reliable and easy to understand. Thus, it has the potential in being used to monitor mucositis among patients undergoing chemotherapy.

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BACKGROUND: Delayed diagnosis and treatment initiation of smear-negative tuberculosis (TB) patients can lead to increased morbidity and mortality, particularly among those co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). OBJECTIVE: To compare TB treatment initiation among smear-negative presumptive TB patients in the 6 months before and after the introduction of Xpert® MTB/RIF testing at five rural tertiary hospitals in Uganda. METHODS: Patient records of the dates and results of sputum analysis were extracted from TB laboratory registers and linked to those on treatment initiation as indicated in the TB treatment registers. The proportion of smear-negative presumptive patients who initiated anti-tuberculosis treatment was compared before and after Xpert implementation using χ² tests. Time to treatment was analysed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. RESULTS: Records from 3658 patients were analysed, 1894 before and 1764 after the introduction of Xpert testing. After the introduction of Xpert, 25% (437/1764) of smear-negative presumptive TB patients underwent testing. The proportion initiated on anti-tuberculosis treatment increased from 5.9% (112/1894) to 10.8% (190/1764) (P < 0.01). However, 37% (32/87) of patients with a confirmed TB diagnosis did not initiate treatment. Time to TB treatment initiation improved from 8 to 3.5 days between the study periods. CONCLUSION: Xpert testing was associated with improved TB treatment initiation among smear-negative presumptive TB patients. Improved utilisation and linkage to treatment could improve the impact of this test on patient-centred outcomes.

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SETTING: Mulago Hospital, Uganda. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the burden of TB-HIV (tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus) co-infections and their predictors in an urban hospital-based HIV programme. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. METHODS: Clinicians screened all patients with HIV/AIDS (acquired immune-deficiency syndrome) for previous and current TB treatment at enrolment and throughout follow-up. RESULTS: Of 10,924 patients enrolled between August 2005 and February 2009, co-prevalent TB was 157/10,924 (1.4%), which included 88/157 (56%) with TB confirmed at enrolment and 65/157 (41%) with TB diagnoses established during follow-up in whom symptoms were present at enrolment. Male sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.3, 95%CI 1.6-3.2) and body mass index (BMI) ≤ 20 kg/m(2) (aOR 3.8, 95%CI 2.5-5.4) were associated with co-prevalent TB. Overall, 749/10,767 (7%) were diagnosed with incident TB at a higher rate among antiretroviral treatment (ART) patients (8/100 patient years of observation [PYO]) than non-ART patients (5/100 PYO, log rank P < 0.001). Female sex (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.4, 95%CI 1.2-1.7) and baseline BMI ≤ 20 (aHR 1.9, 95%CI 1.6-2.2) predicted incident TB. CONCLUSION: Routine TB screening in the HIV/AIDS care programme identified a significant number of TB-HIV co-infections among patients with and without ART, and is therefore a potential strategy to improve HIV treatment outcomes in resource-limited settings.

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OBJECTIVES: To identify pathogens associated with diarrhoea in HIV-infected persons and their HIV-uninfected family members. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Rural community in eastern Uganda. SUBJECTS: Eight hundred and seventy nine HIV-infected adults (74% females and median age 35 years (IQR, 29-41) and 2771 HIV-uninfected family members (51% females and median age 11 years (IQR 6-16) were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Using microscopy and culture, stools were tested for parasites, bacteria and bacterial-antimicrobial-susceptibility. Logistic regression models, adjusting for age, CD4 cells, season, household clustering and use of safe-water system were used for relationships between pathogens, diarrhoea and HIV. RESULTS: Persons with HIV had similar pathogens in diarrhoeal (69%) and nondiarrhoeal stools (57%). Most diarrhoea was not associated with identifiable aetiology; the population attributable risk of diarrhoea for known diarrhoea pathogens was 32%. Enteric bacteria (19%), enteropathogenic or enterotoxigenic E. coli (8%), Aeromonas species (7%), Strongyloides stercoralis (8%) and Cryptosporidium parvum (5%). HIV-infected, stools had more Cryptosporidium parvum than HIV-uninfected (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.43-4.87). Most bacteria were resistant to commonly used antimicrobials irrespective of HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of HIV-status, aetiologies of majority of their diarrhoea in Uganda cannot be identified by microscopy and culture. Bacterial pathogens isolated have high resistance to common antimicrobials. Empiric treatment should be tailored to local bacterial-resistance patterns.

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Background: Despite global effort to scale up access to antiretroviral therapy (ART); many people in need of HIV/AIDS care in Uganda have not been reached. HIV testing and ART are not widely offered as routine medical services and data on HIV/AIDS in emergency settings in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited.We determined the HIV prevalence and eligibility for ART in a medical emergency unit at Mulago hospital. Methods: In a cross-sectional study; we interviewed 223 patients who were systematically selected from the patients'register from October through December 2004. HIV testing was offered routinely and results were delivered within 30 minutes.We evaluated HIV infected patients for WHO clinical stage of disease and referred them for HIV/AIDS care. Results: Out of 223 patients; 111 (50) had HIV infection of whom 78 (70) had WHO clinical stage 3 and 4 of disease thereby requiring ART. Overall; 84 out of 111 (76) HIV positive patients had not received any specific HIV/AIDS care. Conclusion: The burden of HIV infection in the medical emergency unit is high and majority of the patients who required ART had no prior HIV/AIDS care.We recommend scale up of HIV/AIDS care in acute care settings in order to increase access to ART

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