Structured Summary Background The recently updated White House National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) includes specific progress indicators for improving the HIV care continuum, but the economic and epidemiological impact of achieving those indicators remains unclear. Methods We constructed a dynamic transmission model of HIV progression and care engagement to project HIV incidence, prevalence, mortality, and costs among adults in the United States over ten years. We specifically considered achievement of the 2020 targets set forth in NHAS progress indicator 1 (90% awareness of serostatus), indicator 4 (85% linkage within one month), and indicator 5 (90% of diagnosed individuals in care). Finding At current rates of engagement in the HIV care continuum, we project 524,000 (95% Uncertainty Range 442,000 – 712,000) new HIV infections and 375,000 deaths (364,000 – 578,000) between 2016 and 2025. Achieving NHAS progress indicators 1 and 4 has modest epidemiologic impact (new infections reduced by 2·0% and 3·9%, respectively). By contrast, increasing the proportion of diagnosed individuals in care (indicator 5) averts 52% (47-56%) of new infections. Achieving all NHAS targets resulted in a 58% reduction (52%-61%) in new infections and 128,000 lives saved (106,000-223,000) at an incremental health system cost of $105 billion dollars. Interpretation Achievement of NHAS progress indicators for screening, linkage, and particularly improving retention in care, can substantially reduce the burden of HIV in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Video directly observed therapy (vDOT) was introduced to increase flexibility and meet patient-specific needs for TB treatment. This study aimed to assess the reach and effectiveness of vDOT for TB treatment under routine conditions in Alameda County, CA, USA, a busy, urban setting, from 2018 to 2020.METHODS: We prospectively evaluated routinely collected data to estimate 1) reach (proportion of patients initiated on vDOT vs. in-person DOT); and 2) effectiveness (proportion of prescribed doses with verified administration by vDOT vs. in-person DOT).RESULTS: Among 163 TB patients, 94 (58%) utilized vDOT during treatment, of whom 54 (57%) received exclusively vDOT. Individuals receiving vDOT were on average younger than those receiving in-person therapy (46 vs. 61 years; P < 0.001). The median time to vDOT initiation was 2.2 weeks (IQR 1.1–10.0); patients were monitored for a median of 27.0 weeks (IQR 24.6–31.9). vDOT led to higher proportions of verified prescribed doses than in-person DOT (68% vs. 54%; P < 0.001). Unobserved self-administration occurred for all patients on weekends based on clinic instructions, but a larger proportion of doses were self-administered during periods of in-person DOT than of vDOT (45% vs. 24%; P < 0.001).CONCLUSION: A TB program successfully maintained vDOT, reaching the majority of patients and achieving greater medication verification than in-person DOT.

Background Tuberculosis (TB) elimination within the United States (US) will require scaling up TB preventive services. Many public health departments offer care for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), though gaps in the LTBI care cascade are not well quantified. An understanding of these gaps will be required to design targeted public health interventions. Methods We conducted a cohort study through the Tuberculosis Epidemiologic Studies Consortium (TBESC) within 15 local health department (LHD) TB clinics across the US. Data was abstracted on individuals receiving LTBI care during 2016–2017 through chart review. Our primary objective was to quantify the LTBI care cascade, beginning with LTBI testing and extending through treatment completion. Results Among 23,885 participants tested by LHDs, 46% (11,009) were male with a median age of 31 (IQR 20–46). A median of 35% of participants were US-born at each site (IQR 11–78). Overall, 16,689 (70%) received a tuberculin skin test (TST), 6,993 (29%) received a Quantiferon (QFT), and 1,934 (8%) received a T-SPOT.TB; 5% (1,190) had more than one test. Among those tested, 2,877 (12%) had at least one positive test result (3% among US-born, and 23% among non-US–born, p&lt;0.01). Of 2,515 (11%) of the total participants diagnosed with LTBI, 1,073 (42%) initiated therapy, of whom 817 (76%) completed treatment (32% of those with LTBI diagnosis). Conclusions Significant gaps were identified along the LTBI care cascade, with less than half of individuals diagnosed with LTBI initiating therapy. Further research is needed to better characterize the factors impeding LTBI diagnosis, treatment initiation, and treatment completion.

Background In-person directly observed therapy (DOT) is commonly used for tuberculosis (TB) treatment monitoring in the US, with increasing usage of video-DOT (vDOT). We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on TB treatment adherence, and utilization and effectiveness of vDOT. Methods We abstracted routinely collected data on individuals treated for TB disease in Baltimore, Maryland between April 2019 and April 2021. Our primary outcomes were to assess vDOT utilization and treatment adherence, defined as the proportion of prescribed doses (7 days/week) verified by observation (in-person versus video-DOT), comparing individuals in the pre-COVID and COVID (April 2020) periods. Results Among 52 individuals with TB disease, 24 (46%) received treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. vDOT utilization significantly increased in the COVID period (18/24[75%]) compared to pre-COVID (12/28[43%], p = 0.02). Overall, median verified adherence was similar pre-COVID and COVID periods (65% versus 68%, respectively, p = 0.96). Adherence was significantly higher overall when using vDOT (median 86% [IQR 70–98%]) compared to DOT (median 59% [IQR 55-64%], p < 0.01); this improved adherence with vDOT was evident in both the pre-COVID (median 98% vs. 58%, p < 0.01) and COVID period (median 80% vs. 62%, p = 0.01). Conclusion vDOT utilization increased during the COVID period and was more effective than in-person DOT at verifying ingestion of prescribed treatment.

Background In-person directly observed therapy (DOT) is standard of care for tuberculosis (TB) treatment adherence monitoring in the US, with increasing use of video-DOT (vDOT). In Minneapolis, vDOT became available in 2019. Objective In this paper, we aimed to evaluate the use and effectiveness of vDOT in a program setting, including comparison of verified adherence among those receiving vDOT and in-person DOT. We also sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 on TB treatment adherence and technology adoption. Methods We abstracted routinely collected data on individuals receiving therapy for TB in Minneapolis, MN, between September 2019 and June 2021. Our primary outcomes were to assess vDOT use and treatment adherence, defined as the proportion of prescribed doses (7 days per week) verified by observation (in person versus video-DOT), and to compare individuals receiving therapy in the pre–COVID-19 (before March 2020), and post–COVID-19 (after March 2020) periods; within the post–COVID-19 period, we evaluated early COVID-19 (March-August 2020), and intra–COVID-19 (after August 2020) periods. Results Among 49 patients with TB (mean age 41, SD 19; n=27, 55% female and n=47, 96% non–US born), 18 (36.7%) received treatment during the post–COVID-19 period. Overall, verified adherence (proportion of observed doses) was significantly higher when using vDOT (mean 81%, SD 17.4) compared to in-person DOT (mean 54.5%, SD 10.9; P=.001). The adoption of vDOT increased significantly from 35% (11/31) of patients with TB in the pre–COVID-19 period to 67% (12/18) in the post–COVID-19 period (P=.04). Consequently, overall verified (ie, observed) adherence among all patients with TB in the clinic improved across the study periods (56%, 67%, and 79%, P=.001 for the pre–, early, and intra–COVID-19 periods, respectively). Conclusions vDOT use increased after the COVID-19 period, was more effective than in-person DOT at verifying ingestion of prescribed treatment, and led to overall increased verified adherence in the clinic despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.