Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Flora Martinez Figueira Moreira, Renu Verma, Paulo Cesar Pereira dos Santos, Alessandra Leite, Andrea da Silva Santos, Rafaele Carla Pivetta de Araujo, Bruna Oliveira da Silva, Julio Henrique Ferreira de Sa Queiroz, David H. Persing, Erik Sodersten, Devasena Gnanashanmugam, Purvesh Khatri, Julio Croda, Jason R. Andrews
Summary: This study conducted a diagnostic case-control study of tuberculosis screening strategies in two prisons in Brazil, showing that Xpert-MTB-HR is highly sensitive in detecting individuals with medium or high sputum bacillary burden. However, CRP and Xpert-MTB-HR did not meet TPP benchmarks for a triage test.
Article
Immunology
Vandana Kulkarni, Artur T. L. Queiroz, Shashi Sangle, Anju Kagal, Sonali Salvi, Amita Gupta, Jerrold Ellner, Dileep Kadam, Valeria C. Rolla, Bruno B. Andrade, Padmini Salgame, Vidya Mave
Summary: This study identified an optimal gene signature for diagnosing tuberculosis in patients with advanced HIV using whole-blood RNA sequencing and machine learning algorithms. The signature showed high classification accuracy in cohorts from India and Uganda, indicating potential clinical utility.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bachti Alisjahbana, Raspati Cundarani Koesoemadinata, Panji Fortuna Hadisoemarto, Bony Wiem Lestari, Sri Hartati, Lidya Chaidir, Chuan-Chin Huang, Megan Murray, Philip Campbell Hill, Susan Margaret McAllister
Summary: This study aims to understand transmission dynamics of TB in an urban setting in Indonesia to help the TB Control Program eliminate TB more effectively. By screening and analyzing individuals living with or near TB patients, TB prevalence and incidence will be measured to target efforts towards TB elimination.
Article
Infectious Diseases
George Edward Ntow, Margaret Kweku, Enoch Aninagyei, Kwabena O. Duedu
Summary: This study assessed the efficacy of using the SBS tool for community-based active case finding in the Volta Region of Ghana. A total of 1,025 people were screened, with 6 M. tuberculosis-positive cases detected through house-to-house screening. Night sweat was found to have an association with TB case detection among the symptoms screened.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Yuzhong Xu, Yaoju Tan, Xianyi Zhang, Minggang Cheng, Jinxing Hu, Jianxiong Liu, Xinchun Chen, Jialou Zhu
Summary: Through genomic technology, we found that immune-related transcriptional features can effectively differentiate tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis infection, and healthy controls. Key immune-related genes ADM, IFIT3, and SERPING1 are closely associated with TB, and ADM expression significantly increases in TB patients, with elevated levels in TB myeloid cells. These results provide useful and novel insights into exploring potential candidate genes for TB diagnosis and intervention.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Respiratory System
Belen Saavedra, Edson Mambuque, Dinis Nguenha, Neide Gomes, Shilzia Munguambe, Juan Ignacio Garcia, Santiago Izco, Sozinho Acacio, Adria Murias-Closas, Marta Cossa, Irene Losada, Hadrian Pernas-Pardavila, Laura Oliveras, Grant Theron, Alberto L. Garcia-Basteiro
Summary: This field evaluation in Southern Mozambique demonstrates the improved sensitivity of Ultra compared to Xpert, supporting its potential use in various case finding scenarios.
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
G. J. Fox, J. C. Johnston, T. A. Nguyen, S. S. Majumdar, J. T. Denholm, H. Asldurf, C. B. Nguyen, G. B. Marks, K. Velen
Summary: Contact investigation is an important strategy for TB elimination, with benefits for early detection and prevention of the disease. Strategies for priority screening can be tailored based on proximity, duration of exposure, and susceptibility. Local policies should support vulnerable patients and address issues of drop-out during screening.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TUBERCULOSIS AND LUNG DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Lukas E. Bruemmer, Ryan R. Thompson, Akash Malhotra, Sourya Shrestha, Emily A. Kendall, Jason R. Andrews, Patrick Phillips, Payam Nahid, Adithya Cattamanchi, Florian M. Marx, Claudia M. Denkinger, David W. Dowdy
Summary: Low-complexity screening tests for tuberculosis (TB) have the potential to expand community-based case-finding efforts, but their costs and cost-effectiveness are not well understood.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Galina S. S. Shepelkova, Vladimir V. V. Evstifeev, Ruslan V. V. Tarasov, Anush E. E. Ergeshova, Mamed A. A. Bagirov, Vladimir V. V. Yeremeev
Summary: This study focuses on finding biomarkers that can characterize the disease course in surgical tuberculosis patients. They examined a number of serum microRNAs as potential biomarkers for inflammation and fibrosis in tuberculosis, and used quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction and receiver operating curves to verify the data. The study identified several microRNAs that showed differential expression between different groups of patients, and further research is needed to validate these findings on a larger population.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sangwook Park, Chaegyu Sung, Hangseok Choi, Yeo Wool Lee, Yedham Kang, Hee-Jin Kim, Hae-Young Kim, In-Hwan Oh, Seung Heon Lee
Summary: Active case finding (ACF) identified more tuberculosis cases through chest X-ray screening compared to semi-passive case finding (semi-PCF), and suspected tuberculosis cases were more common in ACF among older individuals and those with family visas. ACF is a cost-effective strategy for tuberculosis screening among immigrants.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Syed Mohammad Asad Zaidi, Wafa Zehra Jamal, Christina Mergenthaler, Kiran Sohail Azeemi, Nick Van den Berge, Jacob Creswell, Aamir Khan, Saira Khowaja, Shifa Salman Habib
Summary: Tuberculosis is the main cause of preventable deaths from infectious diseases worldwide, and many cases of TB go undiagnosed each year. Active case-finding has been recommended by the World Health Organization as a way to improve TB detection in high burden countries. However, concerns about its effectiveness and cost remain.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yinhui Yao, Jingyi Zhao, Xiaohui Zhou, Junhui Hu, Ying Wang
Summary: This study evaluated the diagnostic value of key genes in myocardial infarction (MI) using data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A three-gene signature consisting of CCL20, IL1R2, and ITLN1 was identified as an effective biomarker for distinguishing MI patients from healthy controls, with a high sensitivity, specificity, and AUC. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the involvement of this three-gene signature in inflammation-related processes and pathways.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Bih Hycenta Chendi, Tracey Jooste, Thomas Jens Scriba, Martin Kidd, Simon Mendelsohn, Kristian Tonby, Gerhard Walzl, Anne M. Dyrhol-Riise, Novel Njweipi Chegou
Summary: A three-gene signature (BAFT2, ETV7, and CD1C) was found to be able to assist in the diagnosis of TB in hospitalized patients with low TB burden. However, the influence of confounding variables such as age needs to be further evaluated in larger studies.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Fei Zhao, Canyou Zhang, Chongguang Yang, Yinyin Xia, Jin Xing, Guolong Zhang, Lin Xu, Xiaomeng Wang, Wei Lu, Jianwei Li, Feiying Liu, Dingwen Lin, Jianlin Wu, Xin Shen, Shuangyi Hou, Yanling Yu, Dongmei Hu, Chunyi Fu, Lixia Wang, Jun Cheng, Hui Zhang
Summary: This study compared the yield and relative costs of different TB screening algorithms in active case-finding in China. The algorithm with enhanced TB likely symptoms showed increased TB detection yield compared to WHO and China NTP recommendations, but also resulted in higher costs per patient screened.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Ying Du, Xu Gao, Jiaoxia Yan, Haoran Zhang, Xuefang Cao, Boxuan Feng, Yijun He, Tonglei Guo, Henan Xin, Lei Gao
Summary: This study investigated the potential differential DNA methylation patterns between individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and those with active tuberculosis (TB) in order to identify potential biomarkers that can distinguish between the two. A total of eight differentially methylated CpG sites were identified, and a combination of four of these sites showed the best performance in distinguishing TB from LTBI, with high sensitivity and specificity. These preliminary results suggest that DNA methylation levels could be a valuable diagnostic biomarker for differentiating active TB from LTBI, but further validation in larger independent populations is needed.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Ian Wrohan, Thu Anh Nguyen, Viet Nhung Nguyen, Binh Hoa Nguyen, Thi Thanh Thuy Hoang, Phuong Chi Nguyen, Kavindhran Velen, Guy Barrington Marks, Greg James Fox
Summary: This study evaluated the factors associated with treatment success among MDR-TB patients in Vietnam. The findings suggest that male patients, people living with HIV, and those with more extensive antibiotic resistance are at greater risk of an unsuccessful treatment outcome.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Bronwyn K. Brew, Alison Gibberd, Guy B. Marks, Vanessa E. Murphy, Louisa Jorm, Georgina M. Chambers, Donna Hartz, Sandra Eades, Bridgette McNamara
Summary: The study demonstrates that maternal asthma in Indigenous women is associated with an increased risk of emergency cesarean sections, placental abruption, and threatened preterm labor. These risks may be mitigated by improved management of asthma exacerbations during pregnancy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GYNECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS
(2023)
Article
Respiratory System
Jate Ratanachina, Andre F. S. Amaral, Sara De Matteis, Herve Lawin, Kevin Mortimer, Daniel O. Obaseki, Imed Harrabi, Meriam Denguezli, Emiel F. M. Wouters, Christer Janson, Rune Nielsen, Amund Gulsvik, Hamid Hacene Cherkaski, Filip Mejza, Padukudru Anand Mahesh, Asma Elsony, Rana Ahmed, Wan Tan, Li Cher Loh, Abdul Rashid, Michael Studnicka, Asaad A. Nafees, Terence Seemungal, Althea Aquart-Stewart, Mohammed Al Ghobain, Jinping Zheng, Sanjay Juvekar, Sundeep Salvi, Rain Jogi, David Mannino, Thorarinn Gislason, A. Sonia Buist, Paul Cullinan, Peter Burney
Summary: This study aimed to assess the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and occupation. Through cross-sectional data analysis of 28,823 adults aged 40 and above in 34 countries, it was found that working in environments with potential exposure to dusts or fumes was associated with respiratory symptoms but not lung function differences. Therefore, respiratory surveillance should be encouraged among high-risk dusty and fume job workers, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Respiratory System
Yewon Chung, Frances L. Garden, Guy B. Marks, Hima Vedam
Summary: The study aimed to determine the causes and their effect on in-hospital mortality of hypercapnic respiratory failure (HRF). The results showed that HRF is associated with a range of potentially causative conditions, and some of them significantly impact hospital survival. Therefore, systematic evaluation of HRF patients may help to detect treatable comorbidities.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Igor Popovic, Ricardo J. Soares Magalhaes, Yurong Yang, Shukun Yang, Boyi Yang, Guanghui Dong, Xiaolin Wei, Greg J. Fox, Melanie S. Hammer, Randall Martin, Aaron van Donkelaar, Erjia Ge, Guy B. Marks, Luke D. Knibbs
Summary: This study conducted in a rural area in China with a high burden of tuberculosis found that there is a correlation between levels of air pollution, particularly PM2.5 and NO2, and tuberculosis incidence. These findings suggest that improving air quality in endemic regions may have beneficial effects on reducing tuberculosis incidence.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Respiratory System
Yue Leon Guo, Maria R. Ampon, Leanne M. Poulos, Sharon R. Davis, Brett G. Toelle, Guy B. Marks, Helen K. Reddel
Summary: This study estimated the contribution of obesity to breathlessness in Australian adults using the population attributable fraction (PAF). The results showed that obesity accounted for approximately a quarter of breathlessness symptoms and had a higher proportion in women.
Article
Allergy
Sinead Maire Langan, Amy R. Mulick, Charlotte E. Rutter, Richard J. Silverwood, Innes Asher, Luis Garcia-Marcos, Eamon Ellwood, Karen Bissell, Chen-Yuan Chiang, Asma El Sony, Philippa Ellwood, Guy B. Marks, Kevin Mortimer, A. Elena Martinez-Torres, Eva Morales, Virginia Perez-Fernandez, Steven Robertson, Hywel C. Williams, David P. Strachan, Neil Pearce
Summary: The prevalence of eczema has increased over the past 27 years, with significant variations in income and region. Understanding the reasons behind these differences can inform prevention strategies.
CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nathaniel S. Marshall, Garry Cho, Brett G. Toelle, Renzo Tonin, Delwyn J. Bartlett, Angela L. D'Rozario, Carla A. Evans, Christine T. Cowie, Oliver Janev, Christopher R. Whitfeld, Nick Glozier, Bruce E. Walker, Roo Killick, Miriam S. Welgampola, Craig L. Phillips, Guy B. Marks, Ronald R. Grunstein
Summary: This study tested the effects of inaudible infrasound produced by large electricity-generating wind turbines on human physiology and psychology, and found that it did not have negative impacts.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
(2023)
Editorial Material
Respiratory System
Guy B. B. Marks
Article
Environmental Sciences
Slobodan Nickovic, Slavko Petkovie, Luka Ilic, Goran Pejanovic, Zoran Mijic, Alfredo Huete, Guy Marks
Summary: Researchers have developed a physically-based pollen model (DREAM-POLL) to predict the occurrence of thunderstorm asthma (TA). By running the model over Southern Australian grass fields for 2010 and 2016 pollen seasons, they successfully predicted four major TA outbreaks. The model can be implemented for other geographical domains and different pollen types.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Seng Hansun, Ahmadreza Argha, Siaw-Teng Liaw, Branko G. Celler, Guy B. Marks
Summary: This systematic literature review confirms the high potential of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) for tuberculosis (TB) detection using chest radiography (CXR). However, future studies need to pay attention to two aspects of risk of bias, namely the reference standard and the flow and timing aspects.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Respiratory System
A. L. Innes, S. T. Nguyen, V. Lebrun, T. T. H. Nguyen, T. P. Huynh, V. L. Quach, G. L. Hoang, T. B. Nguyen, T. B. P. Nguyen, H. M. Pham, A. Martinez, N. Dinh, V. L. Dinh, B. H. Nguyen, T. T. H. Truong, V. C. Nguyen, V. N. Nguyen, T. H. Mai
Summary: This study compared the results of different thresholds of TST and QFT in household contacts and found that tuberculin reagents affect the positivity rates of TST. The study highlights the importance of monitoring the reliability of TBI diagnosis in high TB burden countries to optimize eligibility for TB preventive treatment.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Paula Jops, John Cowan, Martha Kupul, Richard Nake Trumb, Stephen M. Graham, Mathias Bauri, Herolyn Nindil, Stephen Bell, Tess Keam, Suman Majumdar, William Pomat, Ben Marais, Guy B. Marks, John Kaldor, Andrew Vallely, Angela Kelly-Hanku
Summary: Tuberculosis is a major public health issue in the South Fly District of Western Province, Papua New Guinea. Our research shows that structural barriers, rather than patient delay, hinder timely TB diagnosis and care in rural areas. The findings highlight the need for a person-centred and effective decentralized model of TB care to ensure equitable access to essential health services.
GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Luis Garcia-Marcos, Chen-Yuan Chiang, M. Innes Asher, Guy B. Marks, Asma El Sony, Refiloe Masekela, Karen Bissell, Eamon Ellwood, Philippa Ellwood, Neil Pearce, David P. Strachan, Kevin Mortimer, Eva Morales
Summary: This study aimed to assess asthma medicine use, management plan availability, and disease control in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood across different country settings. The study found variations in asthma medicine use, low utilization of management plans, and inadequate disease control. Strategies should be implemented to improve adherence to asthma treatment guidelines worldwide, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, with a focus on access to affordable and quality-assured essential asthma medicines.
LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Respiratory System
Yijun Zhou, Maria R. Ampon, Michael J. Abramson, Alan L. James, Graeme P. Maguire, Richard Wood-Baker, David P. Johns, Guy B. Marks, Helen K. Reddel, Brett G. Toelle
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health burden, quality of life, and severity of airway obstruction in Australian adults aged 40 years and above. The results showed that greater airflow limitation was associated with higher burden and worse quality of life.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
(2023)
