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Among individuals starting ART, the BMI and clinical staging could be important screening tools for use to identify and target individuals who, despite ART, are still at a high risk of early death.

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A study was conducted in new patients registered with tuberculosis (TB) in a rural district of Malawi to determine (i) the prevalence of malnutrition on admission and (ii) the association between malnutrition and early mortality (defined as death within the first 4 weeks of treatment). There were 1181 patients with TB (576 men and 605 women), whose overall rate of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was 80%. 673 TB patients (57%) were malnourished on admission (body mass index [BMI] < 18.5 kg/m2). There were 259 patients (22%) with mild malnutrition (BMI 17.0-18.4 kg/m2), 168 (14%) with moderate malnutrition (BMI 16.0-16.9 kg/m2) and 246 (21%) with severe malnutrition (BMI < 15.9 kg/m2). 95 patients (8%) died during the first 4 weeks. Significant risk factors for early mortality included increasing degrees of malnutrition, age > 35 years, and HIV seropositivity. Among all the 1181 patients, 10.9% of the 414 patients with moderate to severe malnutrition died in the first 4 weeks compared with 6.5% of the 767 patients with normal to mild malnutrition (odds ratio 1.8, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.7). In patients with TB, BMI < 17.0 kg/m2 is associated with an increased risk of early death.

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In a rural district hospital setting, at least 9 out of every 10 mothers attending antenatal services accepted VCT, of whom approximately one-quarter were HIV-positive and included in the PMTCT programme. The progressive loss to follow up of more than three-quarters of this cohort by the 6-month postnatal visit demands a 'different way of acting' if PMTCT is to be scaled up in our setting.

Journal LancetRights Reproduced on this site with permission of Elsevier Ltd. Please see [url] Tuberculosis 3The HIV-associated tuberculosis epidemic-when will we act? Anthony D Harries, Rony Zachariah, Elizabeth L Corbett, Stephen D Lawn, Ezio T Santos-Filho, Rhehab Chimzizi, Mark Harrington, Dermot Maher, Brian G Williams, Kevin M De Cock Despite policies, strategies, and guidelines, the epidemic of HIV-associated tuberculosis continues to rage, particularly in southern Africa. We focus our attention on the regions with the greatest burden of disease, especially sub-Saharan Africa, and concentrate on prevention of tuberculosis in people with HIV infection, a challenge that has been greatly neglected. We argue for a much more aggressive approach to early diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection in aff ected communities, and propose urgent assessment of frequent testing for HIV and early start of antiretroviral treatment (ART). This approach should result in short-term and long-term declines in tuberculosis incidence through individual immune reconstitution and reduced HIV transmission. Implementation of the 3Is policy (intensifi ed tuberculosis case fi nding, infection control, and isoniazid preventive therapy) for prevention of HIV-associated tuberculosis, combined with earlier start of ART, will reduce the burden of tuberculosis in people with HIV infection and provide a safe clinical environment for delivery of ART. Some progress is being made in provision of HIV care to HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis, but too few receive co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and ART. We make practical recommendations about how to improve this situation. Early HIV diagnosis and treatment, the 3Is, and a comprehensive package of HIV care, in association with directly observed therapy, short-course (DOTS) for tuberculosis, form the basis of prevention and control of HIV-associated tuberculosis. This call to action recommends that both HIV and tuberculosis programmes exhort implementation of strategies that are known to be eff ective, and test innovative strategies that could work. The continuing HIV-associated tuberculosis epidemic needs bold but responsible action, without which the future will simply mirror the past.

Problem In Cambodia, care for people with HIV/AIDS (prevalence 1.9%) is expanding, but care for people with type II diabetes (prevalence 5-10%), arterial hypertension and other treatable chronic diseases remains very limited. Approach We describe the experience and outcomes of offering integrated care for HIV/AIDS, diabetes and hypertension within the setting of chronic disease clinics. Local setting Chronic disease clinics were set up in the provincial referral hospitals of Siem Reap and Takeo, 2 provincial capitals in Cambodia. Relevant changes At 24 months of care, 87.7% of all HIV/AIDS patients were alive and in active follow-up. For diabetes patients, this proportion was 71%. Of the HIV/AIDS patients, 9.3% had died and 3% were lost to follow-up, while for diabetes this included 3 (0.1%) deaths and 28.9% lost to follow-up. Of all diabetes patients who stayed more than 3 months in the cohort, 90% were still in follow-up at 24 months. Lessons learned Over the first three years, the chronic disease clinics have demonstrated the feasibility of integrating care for HIV/AIDS with non-communicable chronic diseases in Cambodia. Adherence support strategies proved to be complementary, resulting in good outcomes. Services were well accepted by patients, and this has had a positive effect on HIV/AIDS-related stigma. This experience shows how care for HIV/AIDS patients can act as an impetus to tackle other common chronic diseases. Une traduction en français de ce résumé figure à la fin de l'article. Al final del artículo se facilita una traducción al español.