Background Drug resistant tuberculosis is a major public health problem in Morocco and worldwide. Treatment outcome of drug resistant tuberculosis is poor and requires a long period of treatment with many toxic and expensive antituberculosis drugs. The aim of this study is to evaluate treatment outcomes of drug resistant tuberculosis and to determine predictors of poor treatment outcomes in a large region of Morocco. Methods It is a multi-centric observational cohort study conducted from January 01, 2014 to January 01, 2016. A questionnaire was established to collect data from clinical charts of patients with confirmed resistant TB. The study was carried out in all the 11 centers located in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region of Morocco where drug resistant tuberculosis is treated. Treatment outcomes were reported and the definitions and classifications of these outcomes were defined according to the WHO guidelines. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to determine factors associated with poor drug resistant tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Morocco. Results In our study, 101 patients were treated for drug resistant tuberculosis between January 01, 2014 and January 01, 2016. Patients’ age ranged from 9.5 to70 years; 72patients (71.3%) were male and 80 patients (79.2%) were living in urban areas. Thirty two patients were smokers, 74 patients had multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, 25 patients had rifampicin resistance and 2 patients had isoniazid resistance. Treatment outcomes of tuberculosis patients were as follows: 45 patients were cured (44.5%), 9 completed treatment (8.9%), 5 patients died before completing the treatment, 35 patients were lost to follow up (34.6%) and 7 patients had treatment failure. In the multivariate analysis, being a smoker is an independent risk factor for poor treatment outcomes, ( p -value = 0.015, OR = 4.355, IC [1.327–14.292]). Conclusion Treatment success outcomes occurred in more than half of the cases, which is lower than the World Health Organization target of at least a 75% success rate. A significant number of patients abandoned their treatment before its completion. These dropouts are a serious public health hazard that needs to be addressed urgently.

Background. Sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients expel infectious viable bacilli for a period following the commencement of treatment. Objective. To determine the time to sputum smear conversion and study the factors influencing it. Design. A prospective study was undertaken at our hospital in Rabat over a six-month period on a cohort of 119 sputum smear positive patients. Patients were followed up fortnightly. At each followup, specimens were collected and processed for microscopy using standard protocol. Results. 96.6% of our patients completed the study (4 deaths). Sputum conversion rate was 42% after two weeks, 73% after one month, and 95% after two months. Univariate and stepwise regression analysis showed that patients who had high smear grading, miliary, and bilateral radiologic lesions were more likely to undergo delayed sputum conversion ( < 0.05). Other factors were thought to influence sputum conversion but were not statistically proven in our study. Conclusion. Since viable bacilli continue to be expelled for up to two months, infection control measures should be maintained for such a time. Patients with high smear grading, miliary, and bilateral radiologic lesions need to be monitored more closely.

In this young patient, the endovascular treatment of a thoracoabdominal aneurysm with an uncovered stent made it possible to stabilize the aneurysm process without exposing the patient to the high morbidity and mortality of open surgery.

Summary Pleural tuberculosis (TB) is a common presentation of M. tuberculosis (MTB) infection, and despite spontaneous resolution remains a strong risk factor for reactivation pulmonary TB in a majority of individuals. This study was undertaken to further understand the characteristics of immune cells at sites of pleural TB. A significant shift toward memory CD4+ T cells with an effector phenotype and away from naïve CD4+ T cells in pleural fluid as compared to blood mononuclear cells was found. These data suggest that effector T cells are capable of migrating to sites of active TB infection and/or the differentiation to effector phenotype T cells in situ is highly amplified. Using multiparameter flow cytometry analysis, a significant portion of MTB-specific CD4+ T cells in the pleural space were polyfunctional demonstrating two, three or four simultaneous functions including IFN-gamma, IL-2, TNF-alpha, and or MIP1-alpha production. A greater proportion of these polyfunctional cells were of effector memory rather than central memory phenotype. The role of these polyfunctional MTB-specific CD4+ T cells at sites of pleural TB requires further study.

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