Factors predictive of TB screening included rheumatology or gastroenterology specialty, higher awareness of TB reactivation as a risk, greater adherence to TB testing guidelines, larger case-loads of patients with severe find more disease, practicing in a major industrialized country and greater number of anti-TNF agents for which risk-related information had been received.
CONCLUSIONS: Most physicians reported being aware of the attendant risk for reactivation of latent TB infection with
anti-TNF treatments. Results suggest that distributing pertinent educational materials is an effective component of a risk minimization strategy to promote TB screening among anti-TNF prescribers.”
“s lmmunohistochemical detection of Cyclooxygenase (Cox)-1 and -2 enzymes in canine mammary tumours (CMT) has recently been described. However, the prognostic value of their expression needs to be established. The aim of this study was to investigate Cox (-1 and -2) prognostic value in malignant
CMT by evaluating its correlation with clinicopathological parameters (tumour size, histological type, necrosis, lymph node metastasis) and with Disease Free Survival (DES) and Overall Survival (OS). Twenty seven female dogs with malignant tumours were included. Cox-2 expression was associated with lymph node metastasis at surgery time, development of distant metastasis during follow-up (p = 0.038), DFS (p = 0.03) and OS (p = 0.04). Multivariate survival analysis showed that Cox-2 did not retain 3-MA PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitor its significance as an independent prognostic CAL-101 nmr factor. For Cox-1 expression, no statistically significant association was observed. Present study suggests the usefulness of testing Cox-2 specific inhibitors as part of an adjuvant therapy in female dogs with malignant mammary neoplasias. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“SETTING: Damien Foundation Project, Bangladesh.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate sputum smear fluorescein diacetate (FDA) vital staining to predict culture-defined failure and rifampicin
(RMP) resistance.
DESIGN: A retrospective, operational study.
RESULTS: A total of 1633 episodes of auramine smear-defined late conversion and failure could be evaluated (respectively 640 and 584 on first treatment and 185 and 224 on retreatment). Negative FDA was 95% predictive of negative culture in patients on first treatment, while its positive predictive value was around 95% during retreatment. The predictive value of a positive (not scanty) result for RMP resistance or environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) was at least 90%, except in late converters on first-line treatment; a negative result was over 95% exclusive of the same except in retreatment failures. FDA correctly identified 88-98% of all RMP resistance.
CONCLUSIONS: FDA staining increased the proportion of tuberculosis patients put on second-line treatment without receiving the standard first-line retreatment regimen.