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Objectives: We aimed to assess the variation in patient body weight over time according to the treatment outcome among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. The data of patients commencing MDR-TB therapy were analyzed. Data were collected from different public TB treatment facilities located in peri-urban areas to the south of Lima, Peru. The outcome was patient body weight (kilograms) from treatment commencement, measured monthly. A random effects model was fitted using robust standard errors to calculate 95% confidence intervals. Results: Of a total of 1242 TB cases, 243 (19.6%) were MDR-TB. Only 201 cases were included in the analysis; 127 (63.2%) were males and the mean patient age was 33.6 (standard deviation 16.2) years. Weight changes over time among the patients who were cured differed from changes in those who died durin...

A 37-year-old woman with history of Evans Syndrome with poor response to high-dose corticoid treatment presented to the emergency department with gastrointestinal and vaginal bleeding. The patient was later diagnosed with severe thrombocytopenia and a stage G1, well-differentiated gastric neuroendocrine tumor, confirmed by a biopsy. A total gastrectomy was performed to eradicate the tumor. After being treated with a total splenectomy for her Evans Syndrome with no clinical or laboratory improvement, she began regular treatment with octreotide on the basis of a possible hepatic metastasis. Days after the initiation of the octreotide, an increase in the platelet count was evidenced by laboratory findings, from 2,000 platelets/mm3 to 109,000 platelets/mm3 . Weeks later, the hepatic metastasis is discarded by a negative octreotide-body scan, and the octreotide treatment was interrupted. Imme...

Introduction: One third of the world population is affected by latent tuberculosis, with 9.4 million new cases; medical students have 2 to 50 times the probability of acquiring the infection. Objectives: Establish the baseline prevalence of positive tuberculin skin test (TST) at the beginning of medical studies and determine the incidence and variables associated with TST conversion in medical students. Materials and Methods: Secondary analysis of a historical cohort (2007-2010) of medical students in a private Peruvian university. The TST conversion was evaluated. A binomial regression analysis was applied for each associated variable. Results: 707 medical students were included, of whom 219 (31%) were male. The basal prevalence of reactive TST was 14.4%. Signifi cant associations were found with the year of university entry of 2007-08 (p = 0.007) and a history of tuberculosis (p = 0.02...

Background: Long-term exposure to anti-tuberculosis medication increases risk of adverse drug reactions and toxicity. The objective of this investigation was to determine factors associated with anti-tuberculosis adverse drug reactions in Lima, Peru, with special emphasis on MDR-TB medication, HIV infection, diabetes, age and tobacco use. Methodology and Results: A case-control study was performed using information from Peruvian TB Programme. A case was defined as having reported an anti-TB adverse drug reaction during 2005–2010 with appropriate notification on clinical records. Controls were defined as not having reported a side effect, receiving anti-TB therapy during the same time that the case had appeared. Crude, and age- and sex-adjusted models were calculated using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). A multivariable model was created to look for independent fa...