Presentation, diagnosis and management of tuberculosis in HIV-infected children in the UK

Unmet basic needs negatively affect health-related quality of life in people aging with HIV: results from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places study

Background

Basic needs (e.g., food security and stable housing) are important determinants of health and well-being, yet their impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the context of HIV and aging has not been systematically investigated.

Methods

Multiple linear regression models examined the relationship between unmet basic needs, and physical and mental HRQoL by age strata (20-34, 35-49 and 50+) in a cross-sectional sample of 496 people living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

Results

An overwhelming majority of participants (87%) reported unmet needs related to food, clothing or housing. The prevalence of unmet basic needs in the two older groups appeared to be lower than among younger participants, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The presence of unmet basic needs predicted substantially lower mean physical health and mental health summary scores in the two oldest groups. Notably, age moderated the influence of unmet basic needs on HRQoL.

Conclusions

The availability and accessibility of food security, appropriate clothing and stable housing for people living with HIV who are aging need to become a higher priority for program planners and decision makers.

Pediatric tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus co-infection in the United Kingdom highlights the need for better therapy monitoring tools: a case report

Background

Tuberculosis is an infection that requires at least 6 months of chemotherapy in order to clear the bacteria from the patient’s lungs. Usually, therapeutic monitoring is dependent on smear microscopy where a decline in acid-fast bacilli is observed. However, this might not be indicative of the actual decline of bacterial load and thus other tools such as culture and molecular assays are required for patient management.

Case presentation

Here, we report the case of a 12-year-old Black African boy co-infected with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus who remained smear culture positive and liquid culture negative for a prolonged period of time following chemotherapy. In order to determine whether there was any live bacteria present in his specimens, we applied the newly developed molecular bacterial load assay that detects the presence of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid derived from the bacteria. Using this methodology, we were able to quantify his bacterial load and inform the management of his treatment in order to reduce the disease burden. Following this intervention he went on to make a complete recovery.

Conclusions

This case report highlights the value of improved biomarkers for monitoring the treatment of tuberculosis and the role of molecular assays such as the molecular bacterial load assay applied here. The molecular bacterial load assay detects bacterial ribonucleic acid which corresponds closely with the number of live bacilli as compared with polymerase chain reaction that detects deoxyribonucleic acid and may include dead bacteria.

Tuberculosis and pneumonia in HIV-infected children: an overview

Pneumonia remains the most common cause of hospitalization and the most important cause of death in young children. In high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-burden settings, HIV-infected children carry a high burden of lower respiratory tract infection from common respiratory viruses, bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In addition, Pneumocystis jirovecii and cytomegalovirus are important opportunistic pathogens. As the vertical transmission risk of HIV decreases and access to antiretroviral therapy increases, the epidemiology of these infections is changing, but HIV-infected infants and children still carry a disproportionate burden of these infections. There is also increasing recognition of the impact of in utero exposure to HIV on the general health of exposed but uninfected infants. The reasons for this increased risk are not limited to socioeconomic status or adverse environmental conditions—there is emerging evidence that these HIV-exposed but uninfected infants may have particular immune deficits that could increase their vulnerability to respiratory pathogens. We discuss the impact of tuberculosis and other lower respiratory tract infections on the health of HIV-infected infants and children.

Profiles of HIV-infected anti-retroviral therapy naïve children from Mumbai, India

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the demographic profiles of human immunodifficiency virus (HIV) infected anti-retroviral therapy (ART) naïve children in our hospital and their relations to the clinical, immunological and nutritional status.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in an Integrated Counselling and Testing Center (ICTC) at a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai. ART naïve HIV positive children were enrolled in the study. The demographic profiles, clinical features, immunological (CD4%/CD4 count) and nutritional status of these children were recorded. The agreement between clinical, immunological and nutritional staging was determined using Cohen's kappa test.

RESULTS

In 192 HIV-infected ART naive children enrolled with a median age of 9 years (range 3 months-14 years), 97.4% acquired infection through vertical transmission. The most common clinical presentation was fever (39.6 %), followed by generalized lymphadenopathy (32.3%), cough (22.4%) and diarrhoea (9.9%). Tuberculosis was seen in 22.9% of the children. The agreement was fair between clinical and immunological staging, and slight between nutritional, immunological and clinical staging.

CONCLUSION

Perinatal transmission is the most common mode of acquiring HIV infection in children. The Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) program should be strengthened for lowering the transmission rate by providing extended ART to mothers during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Tuberculosis remains a major concern in HIV-infected children. The poor correlation between WHO clinical and immunological staging emphasizes the importance of making CD4 facilities available in HIV prevalent areas. Malnutrition cannot be used as a surrogate marker for predicting stage or severity as it is common at all stages of HIV disease.

Tuberculosis, before and after Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV-Infected Children in Nigeria: What Are the Risk Factors?

INTRODUCTION

In Nigeria, there is a dearth of pediatric data on the risk factors associated with tuberculosis (TB), before and after antiretroviral therapy (ART).

METHODOLOGY

A retrospective observational cohort study, between October 2010 and December 2013, at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Nigeria. TB was noted among children less than 15 years of age at ART enrolment (prevalent TB-PrevTB), within 6 months (early incident tuberculosis-EITB) and after 6 months (late incident tuberculosis-LITB) of a 12-month follow-up on ART. Potential risk factors for PrevTB and incident TB were assessed using the multivariate logistic and Cox regression models respectively.

RESULTS

Among 368 HIV-1 infected children, PrevTB was diagnosed in 73 children (19.8%). Twenty-eight EITB cases were diagnosed among 278 children over 132 person-years (py) with an EITB rate of 21.2/100 py. Twelve LITB cases were seen among 224 children over 221.9 py with a LITB rate of 5.4/100 py. A significant reduction in the incidence rates of TB was found over time (75%, p˂ 0.001). Young age of children (12-35 months, aOR; 24, 95% CI; 4.1-146.6, p ˂ 0.001; 36-59 months, aOR;21, 95%CI;4.0-114.3, p ˂ 0.001); history of TB in children (aOR; 29, 95% CI; 7.3-119.4, P˂ 0.001); severe immunosuppression (aOR;38, 95% CI;12-123.2,p ˂ 0.001); oropharyngeal candidiasis (aOR;3.3, 95% CI; 1.4-8.0, p = 0.009) and sepsis (aOR; 3.2, 95% CI;1.0-9.6, p = 0.043) increased the risk of PrevTB. Urban residency was protective against EITB (aHR; 0.1, 95% CI; 0.0-0.4, p = 0.001). Virological failure (aHR; 4.7, 95% CI; 1.3-16.5, p ˂ 0.001) and sepsis (aHR; 26, 95% CI; 5.3-131.9, p ˂ 0.001) increased the risk of LITB.

CONCLUSIONS

In our cohort of HIV-infected children, a significant reduction in cases of incident TB was seen following a 12-month use of ART. After ART initiation, TB screening should be optimized among children of rural residency, children with sepsis, and those with poor virological response to ART.

Tuberculosis: opportunities and challenges for the 90-90-90 targets in HIV-infected children

INTRODUCTION

In 2014 the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS defined the ambitious 90-90-90 targets for 2020, in which 90% of people living with HIV must be diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed should be on sustained therapy and 90% of those on therapy should have an undetectable viral load. Children are considered to be a key focus population for these targets. This review will highlight key components of the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected children in the era of increasing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and their relation to the 90-90-90 targets.

DISCUSSION

The majority of HIV-infected children live in countries with a high burden of TB. In settings with a high burden of both diseases such as in sub-Saharan Africa, up to 57% of children diagnosed with and treated for TB are HIV-infected. TB results in substantial morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children, so preventing TB and optimizing its treatment in HIV-infected children will be important to ensuring good long-term outcomes. Prevention of TB can be achieved by increasing access to ART to both children and adults, and appropriate provision of isoniazid preventative therapy. Co-treatment of HIV and TB is complicated by drug-drug interactions particularly due to the use of rifampicin; these may compromise virologic outcomes if appropriate corrective actions are not taken. There remain substantial operational challenges, and improved integration of paediatric TB and HIV services, including with antenatal and routine under-five care, is an important priority.

CONCLUSIONS

TB may be an important barrier to achievement of the 90-90-90 targets, but specific attention to TB care in HIV-infected children may provide important opportunities to enhance the care of both TB and HIV in children.

Prevalence, incidence, and associated risk factors of tuberculosis in children with HIV living in the UK and Ireland (CHIPS): a cohort study

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis is the most common serious co-infection in people living with HIV worldwide, but little is known about its incidence in HIV-infected children living in high-resource settings with low tuberculosis prevalence. We aimed to assess the incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis in children with HIV living in the UK and Ireland to understand rates, risk factors, and outcomes of the disease in this group.

METHODS

We did an analysis of children enrolled in CHIPS, an observational multicentre cohort of children receiving HIV care in the UK and Ireland. We assessed characteristics and prevalence of tuberculosis at baseline, measured incidence of disease through the follow-up period using the CHIPS database, and calculated associated risk factors in these children with multivariable logistic and Cox regression models.

FINDINGS

Between Jan 1, 1996, to Sept 18, 2014, data for 1848 children with 14 761 years of follow-up were reported to CHIPS. 57 (3%) children were diagnosed with tuberculosis: 29 children had tuberculosis at presentation (prevalent tuberculosis) and 29 had the disease diagnosed during follow-up (incident tuberculosis), including one child with recurrent tuberculosis events. Median age at diagnosis was 9 years (IQR 5-12). 25 (43%) children had pulmonary tuberculosis, 24 (41%) had extrapulmonary tuberculosis with or without pulmonary involvement, and the remainder (n=9; 16%) had unspecified-site tuberculosis. The overall incidence rate for the follow-up period was 196 cases per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 137-283). In our multivariable model, tuberculosis at presentation was associated with more severe WHO immunological stage at baseline (odds ratio 0·25, 95% CI 0·08-0·74; p=0·0331; for none vs severe) and being born abroad (odds ratio 0·28, 0·10-0·73; p=0·0036; for UK and Ireland vs abroad). Incident tuberculosis was associated with time-updated more severe WHO immunological stage (hazard ratio 0·15, 95% CI 0·06-0·41; p=0·0056; for none vs severe) and older age at baseline (1·11, 0·47-2·63; p=0·0027; for age >10 years vs 5-9 years).

INTERPRETATION

Tuberculosis rates in HIV-infected children in the UK and Ireland were higher than those reported in the general paediatric population. Further study is warranted of tuberculosis screening and preventive treatment for children at high-risk of this disease to avoid morbidity and mortality in this population.

FUNDING

NHS England, PENTA Foundation.

Recommendations Concerning the Therapeutic Approach to Immunocompromised Children With Tuberculosis

PURPOSE

This article describes the recommendations of a group of scientific societies concerning the therapeutic approach to immunocompromised children with tuberculosis (TB).

METHODS

Using the Consensus Conference method, relevant publications in English were identified by a systematic review of MEDLINE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from their inception until December 31, 2014.

FINDINGS

On the basis of their clinical experience and the published evidence, the group of experts concluded that, although immunosuppressed subjects are at greater risk of developing TB, none of the signs or symptoms is sensitive or specific enough to enable a diagnosis. Immunocompromised patients are at greater risk of developing extrapulmonary forms of TB, especially if they are adolescents, whereas pulmonary forms are more prevalent among younger patients. When TB is suspected, a combination of skin and immunologic tests and other clinical, radiologic, and microbiologic examinations can be used to assess the risk of infection or disease. If the TB diagnosis is confirmed, immunocompromised children should be treated by using a standard regimen with a minimum of 4 drugs for at least 9 to 12 months, during which the tolerability of the drugs and their interactions should be carefully evaluated.

IMPLICATIONS

It is difficult to diagnose and treat TB in immunocompromised children. Thus, all pediatric patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy who develop TB should be diagnosed and treated at a TB reference center, which should also be responsible for the recommended follow-up.

Tuberculosis Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome in children initiating Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV infection: A systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

People with HIV initiating combination antiretroviral therapy are at risk for tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS). While this syndrome has been well researched in adults, little is known about the incidence, case fatality, underlying immunopathology and treatment approaches in children.

METHODS

Major databases were searched for articles related to TB-IRIS in children. Data were abstracted using standardized forms.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies were identified: 6 retrospective and 2 prospective cohort studies, 1 cross-sectional study, 3 case reports and 1 case series. In total, 303 cases of TB-IRIS were described, of which 270 were unmasking TB-IRIS, 12 paradoxical TB-IRIS and 21 were not classifiable due to lack of key information. None of the cohort studies had investigation of TB-IRIS as its primary aim. Nine studies were from Africa, 3 from Asia and 1 from Latin America. Age at cART initiation (reported by 12 studies) ranged from 1 month to 16 years. Median time from start of cART to IRIS diagnosis (reported by 8 studies) ranged from 8 days to 16 weeks. Few deaths attributable to TB-IRIS were recorded. Treatment was only discussed in 2 case studies, both of which reported children receiving corticosteroids. No studies evaluated risk factors for, or immunopathogenesis of, pediatric TB-IRIS.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a paucity of information available on TB-IRIS in children. Future research assessing incidence, risk factors, case fatality and optimal treatment or prevention strategies of TB-IRIS is needed.

Tuberculosis and HIV co-infection in children

HIV is the top and tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide, with an estimated 8.7 million incident cases of tuberculosis and 2.5 million new HIV infections annually. The World Health Organization estimates that HIV prevalence among children with tuberculosis, in countries with moderate to high prevalence, ranges from 10 to 60%. The mechanisms promoting susceptibility of people with HIV to tuberculosis disease are incompletely understood, being likely caused by multifactorial processes. Paediatric tuberculosis and HIV have overlapping clinical manifestations, which could lead to missed or late diagnosis. Although every effort should be made to obtain a microbiologically-confirmed diagnosis in children with tuberculosis, in reality this may only be achieved in a minority, reflecting their paucibacillary nature and the difficulties in obtain samples. Rapid polymerase chain reaction tests, such as Xpert MTB/RIF assay, are increasingly used in children. The use of less or non invasive methods of sample collection, such as naso-pharyngeal aspirates and stool samples for a polymerase chain reaction-based diagnostic test tests and mycobacterial cultures is promising technique in HIV negative and HIV positive children. Anti-tuberculosis treatment should be started immediately at diagnosis with a four drug regimen, irrespective of the disease severity. Moreover, tuberculosis disease in an HIV infected child is considered to be a clinical indication for initiation of antiretroviral treatment. The World Health Organization recommends starting antiretroviral treatment in children as soon as anti-tuberculosis treatment is tolerated and within 2- 8 weeks after initiating it. The treatment of choice depends on the child's age and availability of age-appropriate formulations, and potential drug interactions and resistance. Treatment of multidrug resistant tuberculosis in HIV-infected children follows same principles as for HIV uninfected children. There are conflicting results on effectiveness of isoniazid preventive therapy in reducing incidence of tuberculosis disease in children with HIV.

CONCLUSION

Data on HIV/TB co-infection in children are still lacking. There are on-going large clinical trials on the prevention and treatment of TB/HIV infection in children that hopefully will help to guide an evidence-based clinical practice in both resource-rich and resource-limited settings.HIV is the top and tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide, with an estimated 8.7 million incident cases of tuberculosis and 2.5 million new HIV infections annually. The World Health Organization estimates that HIV prevalence among children with tuberculosis, in countries with moderate to high prevalence, ranges from 10 to 60%. The mechanisms promoting susceptibility of people with HIV to tuberculosis disease are incompletely understood, being likely caused by multifactorial processes.

A systematic review of clinical diagnostic systems used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children

Background. Tuberculosis (TB) is difficult to diagnose in children due to lack of a gold standard, especially in resource-limited settings. Scoring systems and diagnostic criteria are often used to assist in diagnosis; however their validity, especially in areas with high HIV prevalence, remains unclear. Methods. We searched online bibliographic databases, including MEDLINE and EMBASE. We selected all studies involving scoring systems or diagnostic criteria used to aid in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children and extracted data from these studies. Results. The search yielded 2261 titles, of which 40 met selection criteria. Eighteen studies used point-based scoring systems. Eighteen studies used diagnostic criteria. Validation of these scoring systems yielded varying sensitivities as gold standards used ranged widely. Four studies evaluated and compared multiple scoring criteria. Ten studies selected for pulmonary tuberculosis. Five studies specifically evaluated the use of scoring systems in HIV-positive children, generally finding the specificity to be lower. Conclusions. Though scoring systems and diagnostic criteria remain widely used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children, validation has been difficult due to lack of an established and accessible gold standard. Estimates of sensitivity and specificity vary widely, especially in populations with high HIV co-infection.

Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome and unmasking of tuberculosis by antiretroviral therapy

The tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) is a frequent early complication of antiretroviral therapy (ART), used to treat HIV-1 infection, especially in countries where TB is prevalent. TB-IRIS is characterized by an exaggerated inflammatory response toward the antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that results in clinical deterioration in patients experiencing immune recovery during early ART. Two forms of TB-IRIS are recognized: paradoxical; and unmasking. Paradoxical TB-IRIS manifests with new or recurrent TB symptoms or signs in patients being treated for TB during early ART, and unmasking TB-IRIS is characterized by an exaggerated, unusually inflammatory initial presentation of TB during early ART. In this review the incidence, clinical features, risk factors, treatment, and prevention of TB-IRIS in adult and pediatric patients are discussed.

Clinical profile of 516 children affected by HIV in a tertiary care centre in northern India: 14 years of experience

Increasing numbers of children affected by HIV are being recognised in northern India. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical profile of 516 children affected by HIV at the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Unit, Advanced Pediatric Center, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, during the period January 1994 to May 2008. In total, 454 children (327 boys and 127 girls) infected by HIV were analysed. The median age at presentation was 54 months. Of these children, 401 (88.3%) acquired the infection vertically and 26 (5.7%) acquired it through transfusion of blood/blood products. Moreover, 156 children (34.4%) were asymptomatic at presentation to hospital. Common clinical features included fever (36.6%), respiratory infections (31.7%), lymphadenopathy (30.0%), hepatosplenomegaly (21.8%) and diarrhoea (18.1%); 299 children (65.9%) were malnourished. Triple drug antiretroviral therapy was initiated in 205 children. Children receiving such therapy showed significant improvement in clinical and immunological parameters. Furthermore, follow-up rates improved markedly following free supply of the drug. Therapy was very well tolerated. To conclude, physicians looking after children need to be familiar with the varying clinical presentation of HIV infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest paediatric series on HIV infection from a single centre from any developing country.