The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · May 2012
Tuberculosis seasonality in the Netherlands differs between natives and non-natives: a role for vitamin D deficiency?
The seasonality of tuberculosis (TB) incidence suggests that the risk of infection or development of disease has a seasonal component. ⋯ A seasonal peak in TB notifications (March-June) is apparent in non-natives, but is absent in natives. This peak is driven by the seasonality of EPTB notifications, which are highest in June-July. The contribution of winter crowding is discussed. Vitamin D deficiency, enhancing disease development at the end of winter-early spring, seems the most likely factor explaining the yearly peak in EPTB.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · May 2012
Interleukin-10 and interferon-gamma patterns during tuberculosis treatment: possible association with recurrence.
Interleukin (IL) 10 and interferon-gamma (IFN-) levels in induced sputum supernatants of 21 tuberculosis (TB) patients at diagnosis and during chemotherapy were correlated to recurrence rates. IL-10 decreased until day 60 of treatment (T60), and between T60 and T180 it increased again in 7 cases (Pattern 1) and further decreased in 14 cases (Pattern 2). ⋯ This was not observed for IFN-. High IL-10 levels at the end of treatment may function as a risk factor for TB recurrence.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · May 2012
Comparative StudyFEV3, FEV6 and their derivatives for detecting airflow obstruction in adult Chinese.
Forced expiratory volume in 3 seconds (FEV(3)) and 6 seconds (FEV(6)) could complement FEV(1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) for detecting airflow obstruction. ⋯ FEV(3)/FVC < LLN and FEV(1)/ FEV(6) < LLN are comparable to FEV(1)/FVC < LLN for detecting airflow obstruction. FEV(3)/FVC < LLN could be useful in screening for airflow obstruction, while FEV(1)/ FEV(6) < LLN is useful in detecting airflow limitation in the elderly or in subjects with severe airflow obstruction.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · May 2012
Population-based surveillance of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in Shandong Province, China.
To investigate the prevalence of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in Chinese populations, we analyzed the drug resistance profiles of 1787 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates through a population-based surveillance project in Shandong Province, China. We found 330 (18.5%; 95%CI 16.1-20.3) isolates resistant to ≥1 first-line drug and 65 (3.6%; 95%CI 2.9-4.6) multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates, of which 13 (20.0%; 95%CI 11.9-31.4) were XDR; 47/65 MDR-TB isolates (70.8%; 95%CI 58.2-81.4) were resistant to fluoroquinolones. Our results indicate that inadequate application of second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs has caused increased prevalence of XDR-TB in certain Chinese populations.