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Background: Expansion of the health care workforce in Peru to combat tuberculosis (TB) includes both professional health care providers (HCPs) such as doctors and nurses, and non-professional HCPs such as community health workers (CHWs). We describe the knowledge and attitudes of these HCPs, and identify modifiable barriers to appropriate anti-tuberculosis treatment.  Methodology: We surveyed HCPs practicing in 30 clinical settings (hospitals, community health centers, and health posts) in the San Juan de Lurigancho district of Eastern Lima, Peru. Multiple-choice questions were used to assess knowledge of TB. A five-item Likert scale was created to assess attitudes toward the community, patients, and clinics. Linear regression was used to identify predictors of mean knowledge score, and analysis of variance was used to test differences in HCP score.  Results: Of the 73 HCPs surveyed, 15% were professionals (doctors or nurses). The remaining 85% were health technicians, community health workers (CHWs) or students. The mean knowledge score was 10.0 ± 1.9 (maximum 14) with professional HCPs scoring higher than other HCPs (11.7 ± 1.1 vs. 9.7 ± 1.9), p < .01). Knowledge gaps included identification of patients at high risk for TB, assessment of treatment outcomes, and consequences of treatment failure. The most commonly cited modifiable barriers were structural, including laboratory facilities and staffing of TB clinics, with 52.1% and 62.5% of HCPs, respectively, citing these as problematic.  Conclusions: Efforts to improve knowledge of TB HCPs in Peru should focus on the specific gaps we have identified. Further research is needed to evaluate whether these knowledge gaps correlate with TB control.

Current guidelines recommend separate spirometry reference equations for whites, African Americans, and Mexican Americans, but the justification for this recommendation is controversial. The authors examined the statistical justification for race/ethnic-specific reference equations in adults in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Lung Study (2000-2006). Spirometry was measured following American Thoracic Society guidelines. "Statistical justification" was defined as the presence of effect modification by race/ethnicity among never-smoking participants without respiratory disease or symptoms and was tested with interaction terms for race/ethnicity (× age and height) in regression models. There was no evidence of effect modification by race/ethnicity for forced expiratory volume in 1 second, forced vital capacity, or the forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio among white, African-American, and Mexican-American men or women on an additive scale or a log scale. Interaction terms for race/ethnicity explained less than 1% of variability in lung function. The mean lung function for a given age, gender, and height was the same for whites and Mexican Americans but was lower for African Americans. Findings were similar in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Lung Study. The associations of age and height with lung function are similar across the 3 major US race/ethnic groups. Multiethnic rather than race/ethnic-specific spirometry reference equations are applicable for the US population.

IntroductionThe objectives of this study are to address if and how albumin can be used as an indication of malnutrition in HIV infected and uninfected Africans.MethodsIn 2005, 710 HIV-infected and 226 HIV-uninfected women enrolled in a cohort study. Clinical/demographic parameters, CD4 count, albumin, liver transaminases; anthropometric measurements and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) were performed. Malnutrition outcomes were defined as body mass index (BMI), Fat-free mass index (FFMI) and Fat mass index (FMI). Separate linear predictive models including albumin were fit to these outcomes in HIV negative and HIV positive women by CD4 strata (CD4>350,200–350 and <200 cells/µl).ResultsIn unadjusted models for each outcome in HIV-negative and HIV positive women with CD4>350 cells/µl, serum albumin was not significantly associated with BMI, FFMI or FMI. Albumin was significantly associated with all three outcomes (p<0.05) in HIV+ women with CD4 200–350 cells/µl, and highly significant in HIV+ women with CD4<200 cells/µl (P<0.001). In multivariable linear regression, albumin remained associated with FFMI in women with CD4 count<200 cells/µl (p<0.01) but not in HIV+ women with CD4>200.DiscussionWhile serum albumin is widely used to indicate nutritional status it did not consistently predict malnutrition outcomes in HIV- women or HIV+ women with higher CD4. This result suggests that albumin may measure end stage disease as well as malnutrition and should not be used as a proxy for nutritional status without further study of its association with validated measures.

HIV infection and advanced immune suppression were associated with higher hsCRP and d-dimer and lower transthyretin concentrations. ART (independently of CD4 changes) was significantly associated with decreases in d-dimer and increases in transthyretin, but, in contrast to other studies, was not associated with decreases in hsCRP. We found no change in hsCRP over time in any group.