Background The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused overwhelming challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Healthcare workers (HCWs) have faced particular challenges: being exposed to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and caring for patients having a new and potentially life-threatening disease. The aim of this study was to explore how HCWs in the Swedish healthcare system perceived their work situation during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Methods Focus group discussions and interviews with HCWs were performed from June to October 2020 in one Swedish healthcare region. A purposeful sampling approach was used to select a variety of professions (physicians, nurses, nurse aides and cleaners) and workplaces (hospital inpatient wards, emergency department, nursing home and home care service). Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis. Results In total, 51 HCWs participated in eight focus group discussions and one HCW participated in an individual interview. The content analysis identified two main categories: ‘Concerns about the risk of infection and transmission of infection to others’, and ‘Transition from chaos to managing in a new and challenging work situation’. The findings revealed how HCWs perceived working conditions, including experiences of fear for personal health, confusion and uncertainty regarding personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control (PPE/IPC), and fear of infecting others. Both fearful and appreciating attitudes were achieved from the surrounding community. Helpful strategies for transition from chaos to control were lifted i.e. present and supportive leadership, and finding comfort and strength in the working team. Both helplessness and meaningfulness were described when caring for COVID-19 patients. Conclusions This study provides unique insights into HCWs experiences of an extremely challenging work situation during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, including feelings of stress and insecurity in a chaotic and hazardous working environment. But there is also mitigation of these challenges and even positive experiences including feelings of safety and meaningfulness. To enhance safety among HCWs in healthcare crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings highlight the importance of avoiding confusion about PPE/IPC, having a supportive healthcare leadership and ensuring accurate information provision about virus transmission to the public.

Objectives:Data on cardiovascular disease risks among HIV-infected patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) over long periods of time are lacking in Sub-Saharan Africa.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in Chiradzulu, Malawi from December 2015 to June 2016. HIV-infected persons on ART for more than 10 years (patients) and HIV-negative individuals (controls) from selected clinics participated. Following informed consent, a standardized questionnaire, clinical and laboratory examinations were performed. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors was calculated and stratified by age group.Results:Overall, 379 HIV-infected patients and 356 controls participated. Median time on ART among patients was 11.6 years (interquartile range 10.6–12.4).Within the 30–44, 45–59, and at least 60-year age groups, respectively, the prevalence of hypertension was 10.8, 20.4, and 44.7% among patients and 6.1, 25.8, and 42.9% among controls. Hypertension was previously undiagnosed in 60.3% patients and 37.0% controls with elevated blood pressure. The prevalence of diabetes within the respective age groups was 5.0, 6.4, and 13.2% among patients, and 3.4, 4.2, and 1.7% among controls. HIV-infected patients were more likely to have an glycated hemoglobin at least 6.0% (adjusted odds ratio 1.9; 95% confidence interval 1.1–3.2, P = 0.02). Prevalence of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol more than 130 mg/dl within the respective age groups was 8.0, 15.4, and 23.7% among patients and 1.8, 12.5, and 11.8% among controls.Conclusion: Noncommunicable diseases were a significant burden in Malawi, with high prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in all survey participants and an especially acute diabetes burden among older HIV infected. Hypertension screening and treatment services are needed among identified high-risk groups to cover unmet needs.

Background Current guidelines recommend the use of the lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan assay (LAM) in HIV-positive, ambulatory patients with signs and symptoms of tuberculosis (TB) only if they are seriously ill or have CD4 count ≤ 100 cells/μl. We assessed the diagnostic yield of including LAM in TB diagnostic algorithms in HIV-positive, ambulatory patients with CD4 < 200 cells/μl, as well as the risk of mortality in LAM-positive patients who were not diagnosed using other diagnostic tools and not treated for TB. Methods and findings We conducted a prospective observational study including HIV-positive adult patients with signs and symptoms of TB and CD4 < 200 cells/μl attending 6 health facilities in Malawi and Mozambique. Patients were included consecutively from 18 September 2015 to 27 October 2016 in Malawi and from 3 December 2014 to 22 August 2016 in Mozambique. All patients had a clinical exam and LAM, chest X-ray, sputum microscopy, and Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Xpert) requested. Culture in sputum was done for a subset of patients. The diagnostic yield was defined as the proportion of patients with a positive assay result among those with laboratory-confirmed TB. For the 456 patients included in the study, the median age was 36 years (IQR 31–43) and the median CD4 count was 50 cells/μl (IQR 21–108). Forty-five percent (205/456) of the patients had laboratory-confirmed TB. The diagnostic yields of LAM, microscopy, and Xpert were 82.4% (169/205), 33.7% (69/205), and 40.0% (84/205), respectively. In total, 50.2% (103/205) of the patients with laboratory-confirmed TB were diagnosed only through LAM. Overall, the use of LAM in diagnostic algorithms increased the yield of algorithms with microscopy and with Xpert by 38.0% (78/205) and 34.6% (71/205), respectively, and, specifically among patients with CD4 100–199 cells/μl, by 27.5% (14/51) and 29.4% (15/51), respectively. LAM-positive patients not diagnosed through other tools and not treated for TB had a significantly higher risk of mortality than LAM-positive patients who received treatment (adjusted risk ratio 2.57, 95% CI 1.27–5.19, p = 0.009). Although the TB diagnostic conditions in the study sites were similar to those in other resource-limited settings, the added value of LAM may depend on the availability of microscopy or Xpert results. Conclusions LAM has diagnostic value for identifying TB in HIV-positive patients with signs and symptoms of TB and advanced immunodeficiency, including those with a CD4 count of 100–199 cells/μl. In this study, the use of LAM enabled the diagnosis of TB in half of the patients with confirmed TB disease; without LAM, these patients would have been missed. The rapid identification and treatment of TB enabled by LAM may decrease overall mortality risk for these patients.

Background: Determine TB-LAM is a urine-based point-of-care assay for diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). Objective: To assess the feasibility of using LAM to diagnose TB in adult HIV-positive patients in resource-limited settings. Methods: We performed a multi-centric mixed-methods cross-sectional descriptive study in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique. We used the study and program monitoring tools to estimate user workload, turn-around time (TAT), and proportion of patients with LAM and sputum-based results. We conducted semi-structured interviews to assess the user acceptability of the LAM. Results: The duration of the LAM testing activity per patient was 27 min (IQR 26-29); staff continued with other duties whilst waiting for the result. More patients had a LAM versus a sputum-based result: 168/213 (78.9%) vs 77/213 (36.1%), p < 0.001 in DRC; 691/ 695 (99.4%) vs 429/695 (61.7%), p < 0.001 in Malawi; and 646/647 (99.8%) vs 262/647 (40.5%), p < 0.001 in Mozambique. The median TAT in minutes when LAM was performed in the consultation room was 75 (IQR 45-188) in DRC,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] in Malawi,[36][37][38][39][40][41] in Mozambique. In comparison, the overall median TAT for sputumbased tests (smear or GeneXpert) was 2 (IQR 1-3) days. The median time to the first anti-TB drug dose for LAM-positive patients was 155 (IQR 90-504) minutes in DRC and 90 (IQR 60-117) minutes in Mozambique. The overall inter-reader agreement for the interpretation of the LAM result as positive or negative was 98.9%, kappa 0.97 (95%CI 0.96-0.99). Overall, LAM users found the test easy to perform. Major concerns were use of the reading card and the prior requirement of CD4 results before LAM testing. Conclusion: It is feasible to implement the LAM test in low resource settings. The short TAT permitted same day initiation of TB treatment for LAM-positive patients. ARTICLE HISTORY

Background: Current eligibility criteria for urine lateral-flow lipoarabinomannan assay (LF-LAM) in ambulatory, HIV-positive patients rely on the CD4 count. We investigated the diagnostic yield of LF-LAM and the 6-month mortality in ambulatory, TB symptomatic, HIV-positive patients regardless of their CD4 count. Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational study that included all ambulatory, ≥15-year-old, TB symptomatic (cough, weight loss, fever, or night sweats) HIV-positive patients presenting at 4 health facilities in Malawi. Patients received a clinical examination and were requested urine LF-LAM, sputum microscopy, and Xpert MTB/RIF. TB was defined as bacteriologically confirmed if Xpert was positive. Results: Of 485 patients included, 171 (35.3%) had a CD4 <200 and 32 (7.2%) were seriously ill. Median CD4 count was 341 cells/µL (interquartile range: 129–256). LAM was positive in 24.9% patients with CD4 < 200 (50% LAM grades 2–4) and 12.5% with CD4 ≥ 200 (12.8% LAM grades 2–4). Xpert was positive in 14.1% (44/312). Among Xpert-positive patients, LAM positivity was 56.7% (CD4 < 200) and 42.9% (CD4 ≥ 200), P = 0.393. Of the patients without an Xpert result, 13.4% (23/172) were LAM positive (ie, potentially missed patients). Overall, mortality was 9.2% (44/478). More pronounced LAM-positive patients had higher mortality than LAM-negative (grades 2–4: 36.0%; grade 1: 9.1%; negative: 7.4%; P < 0.001). LAM-positive patients with CD4 <200 cells/µL had higher risk of mortality than LAM negatives (adjusted hazard ratio: 3.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.4 to 7.2, P = 0.006), particularly those with LAM grades 2–4 (adjusted hazard ratio: 4.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.8 to 13.3, P = 0.002). Conclusions: Urine-LAM testing can be useful for TB diagnosis in HIV-positive TB-symptomatic patients with no CD4 cell count. LAM grade can identify patients at higher risk of death in this situation.

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Background Diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), the leading cause of death in people with HIV, remains a challenge in resource-limited countries. We assessed TB diagnosis using a strategy that included systematic urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) testing for all HIV patients hospitalized in medical wards and 6-month mortality according to LAM results. Methods This prospective, observational study included adult HIV patients hospitalized in the medical wards of a public district hospital in Malawi regardless of their TB symptoms or CD4 count. Each patient had a clinical examination, and Alere Determine TB-LAM, sputum microscopy, sputum GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert), chest x-ray, and CD4 count were systematically requested. Results Among 387 inpatients, 54% had a CD4 &lt;200 cells/µL, 64% had presumptive TB, and 90% had ≥1 TB symptom recorded in their medical file. LAM results were available for 99.0% of patients, microscopy for 62.8%, and Xpert for 60.7%. In total, 26.1% (100/383) had LAM-positive results, 48% (48/100) of which were grades 2–4. Any TB laboratory test result was positive in 30.8% (119/387). Among patients with no Xpert result, 28.5% (43/151) were LAM-positive. Cumulative 6-month mortality was 40.1% (151/377): 50.5% (49/97) in LAM-positives and 36.2% (100/276) in LAM-negatives (P = .013). In multivariable regression analyses, LAM-positive patients had a higher risk of mortality than LAM-negatives (adjusted odds ratio, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1–5.8; P = .037). Conclusions In resource-limited hospital medical wards with high TB prevalence, a diagnostic strategy including systematic urine LAM testing for all HIV patients is an easily implementable strategy that identifies a large proportion of patients with TB at risk of death.

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