Objective:To use baseline audiogram parameters in order to ascertain whether drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) has effects on hearing, as well as to describe the configurations of the audiograms and to determine whether there are parameters that can be associated with those configurations. Methods:This was a prospective study involving patients diagnosed with DR-TB at a tuberculosis treatment center in the state of Ogun, in Nigeria. The patients included in the study were submitted to pure tone audiometry at baseline (within two weeks after treatment initiation). For comparative analyses, data regarding demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from the medical records of the patients. Results:The final sample comprised 132 patients. The mean age of the patients was 34.5 ± 12.6 years (range, 8-82 years), and the male:female ratio was 2:1. Of the 132 patients, 103 (78.0%) resided in neighboring states, 125 (94.7%) had previously experienced antituberculosis treatment failure, and 18 (13.6%) were retroviral-positive. Normal audiograms were found in 12 patients (9.1%), whereas sensorineural hearing loss was identified in 104 (78.8%), the two most common configurations being ascending, in 54 (40.9%), and sloping, in 26 (19.7%). Pure-tone averages at low frequencies (0.25-1.0 kHz) and high frequencies (2.0-8.0 kHz) were 33.0 dB and 40.0 dB, respectively. Regarding the degree of hearing loss in the better ear, 36 patients (27.3%) were classified as having normal hearing and 67 (50.8%) were classified as having mild hearing loss (26-40 dB), whereas 29 (21.9%) showed moderate or severe hearing loss. Among the variables studied (age, gender, retroviral status, previous treatment outcome, and weight at admission), only male gender was associated with audiometric configurations. Conclusions:In this sample of patients with DR-TB, most presented with bilateral, mild, suboptimal sensorineural hearing loss, and ascending/sloping audiometric configurations were associated with male gender.

Introduction: Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of mortalities attributable to an infectious disease. In a private sector-driven health system such as Nigeria, the private health providers are very important stakeholders in tuberculosis diagnosis and management. Unfortunately, there are few data on the level of contribution of these private health providers to the case finding and notification of tuberculosis in Nigeria. Consequently, this study assessed the contribution of the private providers to the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis under the Global Fund Private Public Mix New Funding Model (2 nd phase) grant (GF PPM NFM2) in the four implementing states of south west Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of the NFM2 programme implementation data collected between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020. Data was extracted from the routine registers such as the presumptive TB registers; treatment register of the private health facilities engaged for PPM activities between 2019 and 2020. The data was entered and analyzed using Microsoft excel package. The variables were summarized using appropriate charts and table. Results: Concerning the percentage contribution of the Global Fund Private Public Mix (GF PPM) grant to the total state TB case notification, majority of the implementing states show some progressive rise in the contribution of GF PPM to State TB case notification as the grant implementation progressed. Furthermore, at the initial period of the grant implementation, the health facilities seemed to have generated majority of the cases. However, as the grant implementation progressed, the PPMVs were responsible for the diagnosis of majority of the cases. Conclusion: As the grant progressed, there was a progressive increase in the num-How to cite this paper: Fadeyi, M.O.,

The act of referring TB presumptive individuals after verbal screening to another health facility/diagnostic centres for testing often results in large loss to follow-up, owing to the many barriers people face in accessing care. The transportation of sputum samples is an efficient method of increasing access to tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics in areas where testing is not currently available. One of the major reasons for the low yield of TB cases in the field was delay in sputum sample transportation to diagnostic laboratories among other factors. Damien Foundation Belgium, carried out a unique sputum riders initiatives in 20 LGAs of Lagos state between Q3-2019 and Q4-2020. A total of 25 sputum dispatch riders across the 20 LGAs in the State who are monitored routinely on an electronic dashboard were engaged for sputum logistics. Therefore, this report highlights how the initiatives have contributed to increased TB case notification in a densely populated metropolitan city in Nigeria. Overall, 48,265 units of sputum samples were transported to the laboratory from the facilities 99.9% of results which were received from the laboratory by the dispatch riders. The contribution of sputum riders to the overall TB case detection by the project progressively