This study aimed to analyze the discourses of patients who were diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the perception of why they acquired this health condition and barriers to seeking care in a priority city in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an exploratory qualitative study, which used the theoretical-methodological framework of the Discourse Analysis of French matrix, guided by the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. The study was conducted in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Seven participants were interviewed who were undergoing treatment at the time of the interview. The analysis of the participants’ discourses allowed the emergence of four discursive blocks: (1) impact of the social determinants in the development of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, (2) barriers to seeking care and difficulties accessing health services, (3) perceptions of the side effects and their impact on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment, and (4) tuberculosis and COVID-19: a necessary dialogue. Through discursive formations, these revealed the determinants of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Considering the complexity involved in the dynamics of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, advancing in terms of equity in health, that is, in reducing unjust differences, is a challenge for public policies, especially at the current moment in Brazil, which is of accentuated economic, political and social crisis. The importance of psychosocial stressors and the lack of social support should also be highlighted as intermediary determinants of health. The study has also shown the situation of COVID-19, which consists of an important barrier for patients seeking care. Many patients reported fear, insecurity and worry with regard to returning to medical appointments, which might contribute to the worsening of tuberculosis in the scenario under study.

Objective Multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis (MDR‐TB) remains a serious public health problem worldwide. Accordingly, this study sought to identify individual, community and access to health services risk factors for MDR‐TB. Methods Retrospective cohort of all TB cases diagnosed between 2006 and 2016 in the state of São Paulo. A Bayesian spatial hierarchical analysis with a multilevel design was carried out. Results It was identified that the history of previous TB treatment (Odds Ratios [OR]:13.86, 95% credibility interval [95% CI]:12.06–15.93), positive sputum culture test (OR: 5.26, 95% CI: 4.44–6.23), diabetes mellitus (OR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.87–2.91), residing at a standard address (OR: 2.62, 95% CI: 1.91–3.60), positive sputum smear microscopy (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.44–2.12), cavitary pulmonary TB (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.14–1.60) and diagnosis performed due to spontaneous request (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.10–1.46) were associated with MDR‐TB. Furthermore, municipalities that performed HIV tests in less than 42.65% of patients with TB (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.25–1.79), that diagnosed TB cases only after death (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.17–1.93) and that had more than 20.16% of their population with income between ¼ and ½ of one minimum wage (OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.30–1.87) were also related to the MDR‐TB. Conclusions Knowledge of these predictive factors may help to develop more comprehensive disease prevention strategies for MDR‐TB, avoiding the risks expressed regarding drug resistance expansion.

Objective: to assess the impact of the GeneXpert® MTB/RIF rapid molecular test on tuberculosis detection, to analyze the temporal trend of the event and to identify vulnerable territories in a Brazilian municipality. Method: an ecological study carried out in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, a municipality considered a priority in tuberculosis control due to the high number of cases. To classify the temporal trend, the Prais-Winsten method and the Interrupted Time Series were used to identify changes in the disease incidence. Kernel intensity analysis was applied to identify vulnerable areas. Results: the temporal trend of tuberculosis decreased by 18.1%/year and by 6.9%/year for children under 15 years old. The North District decreased by 6.67%/year and the East District increased by 17.5%/year in the incidence of tuberculosis. Resistant tuberculosis, after the implementation of the Rapid Molecular Test, increased by 0.6% per year. The South and West Districts showed a higher density of cases, with a range from 45 to 79 tuberculosis cases per square kilometer (km2). Conclusion: although resistant tuberculosis is not a problem in the scenario, the study showed an increase in its incidence, which puts it on alert. The use of spatial analysis enabled the identification of priority areas, putting them in evidence for health surveillance actions.

This study's objective was to estimate the temporal trends of leprosy according to sex and age groups, as well as to estimate and predict the progression of the disease in a hyperendemic city located in the northeast of Brazil. This ecological time-series study was conducted in Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil. Leprosy cases diagnosed between 2006 and 2016 were included. Detection rates stratified by sex and age groups were estimated. The study of temporal trends was accomplished using the Seasonal-Trend Decomposition method and temporal modeling of detection rates using linear seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model according to Box and Jenkins method. Trend forecasts were performed for the 2017-2020 period. A total of 3,212 cases of leprosy were identified, the average incidence among men aged between 30 and 59 years old was 201.55/100,000 inhabitants and among women in the same age group was 135.28/100,000 inhabitants. Detection rates in total and by sex presented a downward trend, though rates stratified according to sex and age presented a growing trend among men aged less than 15 years old and among women aged 60 years old or over. The final models selected in the timeseries analysis show the forecasts of total detection rates and rates for men and women presented a downward trend for the 2017-2020 period. Even though the forecasts show a downward trend in Imperatriz, the city is unlikely to meet a significant decrease of the disease burden by 2020.

ObjectiveTo identify the risk areas of deaths due to unspecified pneumonia and tuberculosis (TB) in children, and to identify if there is a relationship between these events with higher TB incidence and social determinants.MethodsEcological study carried out in Brazil. All cases of TB or unspecified pneumonia deaths in children under 5 years of age reported between 2006 and 2016 were included and collected through Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (Brazil’s electronic database). The Spatial Scan Statistics was used to identify areas at higher risk of dying from this event. The spatial association was verified through the Getis-Ord techniques. The Bivariate Moran Global Index was used to verify the spatial autocorrelation between the two events. To identify the association of TB and pneumonia deaths with endemic areas of pulmonary TB and social determinants, four explanatory statistical models were identified.ResultsA total of 21 391 cases of pneumonia and 238 cases of TB were identified. Spatial scanning analysis enabled the detection of four clusters of risk for TB (relative risk, RR, between 3.30 and 18.18) and 22 clusters for pneumonia (RR between 1.38 and 5.24). The spatial association of the events was confirmed (z-score 3.74 and 64.34) and spatial autocorrelation between events (Moran Index:0.031 (p=0.001)). The zero-inflated negative binomial distribution was chosen, and an association for both events was identified with the TB incidence rate (OR 5.3, 95% CI 2.85 to 9.84; OR 6.63, 95% CI 5.62 to 7.81), with the Gini Index (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.82; OR 4.22, 95% CI 3.63 to4.92). Primary care coverage showed an inverse association for both events (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.17; OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.21) for pneumonia). Finally, a family that benefited from the Bolsa Família Programme had an inverse association for deaths from pneumonia (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.25).ConclusionsThe results do not just contribute to reduce mortality in children, but mainly contribute to prevent premature deaths through identification of critical areas in Brazil, which is crucial to qualify health surveillance services.

Background To evaluate the effectiveness of a rapid molecular test for the detection of tuberculosis (TB) and to predict the rates of disease in a municipality of Brazil where TB is endemic. Methods An ecological study was carried out in Ribeirão Preto-SP on a population of TB cases notified between 2006 and 2017. Monthly TB incidence rates and the average monthly percentage change (AMPC) were calculated. In order to identify changes in the series, the breakpoint technique was performed; the rates were modelled and predictions of the incidence of TB until 2025 were made. Results AMPC showed a fall of 0.69% per month in TB and human immunodeficiency virus (TB-HIV) co-infection, a fall of 0.01% per month in general and lung TB and a fall of 0.33% per month in extrapulmonary TB. With the breakpoint technique, general and pulmonary TB changed in structure in late 2007, and extrapulmonary TB and TB-HIV co-infection changed in structure after 2014, which is considered the cut-off point. The IMA(3) models were adjusted for general and pulmonary TB and TB-HIV co-infection, and the AR(5) models for extrapulmonary TB, and predictions were performed. Conclusions The rapid molecular test for TB is the method currently recommended by the WHO for the diagnosis of the disease and its main advantage is to provide faster, more accurate results and to already check for drug resistance. It is necessary that professionals encourage the use of this technology in order to optimize the diagnosis so that the treatment begins as quickly as possible and in an effective way. Only by uniting professionals from all areas with health policies aimed at early case identification and rapid treatment initiation it is possible to break the chain of TB transmission so that its rates decrease and the goals proposed by the WHO are achieved.

Background: Although preventable and curable, tuberculosis (TB) still occurs in poor or developing countries, mainly in metropolitan regions of larger cities. The disease is a serious public health problem, and is directly linked to social issues. We analyzed temporal trend variations in areas at risk for concomitant TB, and characterized the clinical and epidemiological profiles of cases in a hyperendemic municipality in the Amazon region of Brazil. Methods: This ecological study was performed in the municipality of Manaus, in northern Brazil. The population comprised cases with concomitant pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB, registered on the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN), between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2018. For risk cluster detection, spatial and spatiotemporal scanning statistical techniques were used. The Spatial Variation in Temporal Trends (SVTT) approach was used to detect and infer clusters for significantly different time trends. Results: Between 2009 and 2018, 873 concomitant TB cases were registered in Manaus. By using purely spatial scanning statistics, we identified two risk clusters. The relative risk (RR) of the clusters was 2.21 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.57-2.88; P = 0.0031) and 2.03 (95% CI: 1.58-2.58; P = 0.0029). Using space-time scanning, we identified a risk cluster with an RR of 3.57 (95% CI: 2.84-4.41; P = 0.014), between 2017 and 2018. For SVTT analyses, three clusters with spatial variations were detected in the significant temporal trends: SVTT 1 (P = 0.042), SVTT 2 (P = 0.046) and SVTT 3 (P = 0.036). Conclusions: In Brazil, several TB-determining factors such as race/color, gender, low educational level and low income overlap in needy urban areas and communities, demonstrating that it is unlikely to reach the goals, agreed and launched with the END TB Strategy within the deadlines of international agreements, if there is no reduction in existing inequities determinants and risk of illness in the country.

Objetivou-se identificar fatores relacionados, classificar a tendência temporal e identificar áreas com associação espacial do abandono de tratamento para tuberculose em Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. Estudo ecológico; população composta pelos casos notificados entre 2006 a 2017. Realizou-se o teste qui-quadrado para identificar fatores relacionados. Para a tendência temporal, utilizou-se o método de Prais-Winsten para classificar a tendência temporal do evento e calculada sua porcentagem de variação anual. Para verificar associação espacial, utilizaram-se as técnicas G e Gi*. Foram notificados 146 casos de abandono do tratamento da doença no período; como fatores de risco foi identificado pessoas sem escolaridade, retratamentos pós-abandono e falência prévia; como proteção casos novos identificados pela busca ativa, não ter coinfecção Tuberculose-HIV e não fazer uso de álcool ou drogas. A taxa de abandono apresenta tendência crescente (APC=1,6%; IC95% 0.02–3.48). O estudo evidencia o aumento do abandono de tratamento, contrariando as políticas direcionadas pelo End TB Strategy. Descritores: Tuberculose; Cooperação e Adesão ao Tratamento; Saúde Pública; Análise Espacial.