Experiences, challenges and looking to the future in a clinical tuberculosis cohort in the time of COVID-19 in the Philippines

Ferrer, Julius Patrick; Suzuki, Shinichi; Alvarez, Cristelyn; Berido, Clarinda; Caballero, Michelle; Caraig, Bliss; Flores, Paul Ian; Juson, Romil Jeffrey; Lustresano, Ann; Opinion, Trivon; Saavedra, Michelle; Verde, Ares; Faguer, B; Cox, Sharon E.; Solon, Juan Antonio A.

doi:10.1093/trstmh/trab025

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our study starkly contrasts findings from other settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several countries reported ≤30% fewer TB notifications during the first half of 2020 than before COVID-19 ( 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 24 , 25 ). In Malawi, one province noted a 36% decrease in notifications, after which a subsequent rebound in notifications occurred by the end of the year, culminating in a 24% overall decrease in TB notifications in 2020 ( 26 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Decreased TB notifications led to fears that delays in case detection and reduced treatment completion resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic might lead to increased Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission and consequently higher mortality rates ( 8 ). Indeed, evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in reduced patient adherence to treatment ( 9 ), decreased access to medications ( 10 , 11 ), delayed access to services ( 10 , 12 ), and higher rates of loss to follow-up for patients with TB ( 10 ). Some of this disruption has been attributed to diversion of resources and interruptions to drug supply and delivery resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic ( 13 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Retrospective Cohort Study of Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tuberculosis Notifications, Vietnam, 2020

Hasan¹,

Nguyen²,

Nguyen³

et al. 2022

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We evaluated the effects of the coronavirus disease pandemic on diagnosis of and treatment for tuberculosis (TB) in Vietnam. We obtained quarterly notifications for TB and multidrug-resistant/rifampin-resistant (MDR/RR) TB from 2015–2020 and evaluated changes in monthly TB case notifications. We used an interrupted time series to assess the change in notifications and treatment outcomes. Overall, TB case notifications were 8% lower in 2020 than in 2019; MDR/RR TB notifications were 1% lower. TB case notifications decreased by 364 (95% CI −1,236 to 508) notifications per quarter and MDR/RR TB by 1 (95% CI −129 to 132) notification per quarter. The proportion of successful TB treatment outcomes decreased by 0.1% per quarter (95% CI −1.1% to 0.8%) in 2020 compared with previous years. Our study suggests that Vietnam was able to maintain its TB response in 2020, despite the pandemic.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Retrospective Cohort Study of Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tuberculosis Notifications, Vietnam, 2020

Hasan¹,

Nguyen²,

Nguyen³

et al. 2022

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A patient population (N = 512) with Systemic Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis reported moderate to severe anxiety (38.7%) and moderate to severe depression (27%) (Tee et al, 2020a). A tuberculosis (TB) cohort study faced operational follow-up issues during the pandemic, when participants expressed fears regarding feeling more at risk for COVID-19 than their TB (Ferrer et al, 2021). Anxiety was reported across educator/learner populations with varying levels, including 62.64% (332/530) of students being worried about food and financial resources, and about half noted avoiding in-person socialization and group meetings during lockdown in southern Philippines (Baloran, 2020).…”

Section: Mental and Psychosocial Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines: A scoping review

Ocampo,

Santos,

Sevilleja

et al. 2024

Camb. prisms Glob. ment. health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) remained at elevated risk for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic because of persistent stressors to their health systems. Simultaneously facing high infection rates, strict containment measures and natural disasters, the Philippines provides important grounds for health research in LMICs. This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines. This scoping review included literature in English from 2020 to mid-2022 from PubMed, PsycInfo and SCOPUS, and used the PRISMA-ScR and PCC-question model. Two independent reviewers conducted blind article screening and data extraction using COVIDENCE software, followed by consensus building, data charting and analyses. This work identified 405 publications across PubMed (N = 56), PsycInfo (N = 106) and SCOPUS (N = 243), of which 76 articles addressed the Philippines. Article types included 54 research articles, 10 opinion pieces, 4 literature reviews, 6 letters to journals, 1 study protocol and 1 other report. These findings focused primarily on health professionals (N = 23) and educators/learners (N = 22) and reported mostly on moderateto-severe clinical outcomes such as fear, depression, anxiety or stress. Coping behaviors, like resiliency and other ways of adapting to the pandemic, including religious, spiritual and community-oriented approaches highlighted experiences with stringent infection prevention and control measures to contain COVID-19 in the Philippines. The COVID-19 pandemic brought severe challenges to mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines. The literature focused mostly on healthcare workers and educators/learners, and moderate-to-severe mental health outcomes in these groups. There is a need to expand studies to other sociodemographic groups and communities across the Philippines. Future work stands to benefit from more in-depth qualitative, mixed methods, longitudinal and representative quantitative research in LMICs following this pandemic. Literature reviews remain important to synthesize postpandemic experiences by providing context for future studies and health practice in the Philippines and other LMICs. Impact statementThis scoping review of research literature found and described the emerging evidence base outlining comprehensive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines. This work addressed existing knowledge gaps by bringing light to literature that looked at concrete health outcomes such as anxiety and depression, as well as highlighting some of the daily stressors facing the population in an LMIC setting such as the Philippines. Specifically, this article reflects the literature that was published during the first 2 years of the pandemic and contributes substantially to providing an overview of what research was done during this time. This article's discussion anchors its findings in the country's local context. This body of literature largely documented the mental and psychosocial health impacts spe...

show abstract

“…A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis by Ruiz-Grosso, et al [156] documented a strong association between TB and depression that caused adverse TB treatment outcomes, including poor adherence, loss-to-follow-up, and death. Thirteen publications [157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169] discussed mental health concerns, emphasizing the escalation of fear and anxiety among people with TB during the pandemic.…”

Section: Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Tuberculosis: A Thematic Scoping Review, 2020-2023

Marco,

Ahmedov,

Castro

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: This thematic scoping review of publications sought to understand the global impact of COVID-19 on tuberculosis (TB), interpret the scope of resonating themes, and offer policy recommendations to stimulate TB recovery and future pandemic preparedness. Data Sources: Publications were captured from three search engines, PubMed, EBSCO, and Google Scholar, and applicable websites written in English from January 1, 2020, to April 30, 2023. Study Selection: Our scoping review was limited to publications detailing the impact of COVID-19 on TB. Original research, reviews, letters, and editorials describing the deleterious and harmful––yet sometimes positive–– impact of COVID-19 (sole exposure) on TB (sole outcome) were included. The objective was to methodically categorize the impacts into themes through a comprehensive review of selected studies to provide significant health policy guidance. Data Extraction: Two authors independently screened citations and full texts, while the third arbitrated when consensus was not met. All three performed data extraction. Data Synthesis/Results: Of 1,755 screened publications, 176 (10%) covering 39 countries over 41 months met the inclusion criteria. Ten principal themes were established, which encompassed TB’s care cascade, patient-centered care, psychosocial issues, and health services: 1) case-finding and notification (n=45; 26%); 2) diagnosis and laboratory systems (n=19; 10.7%) 3) prevention, treatment, and care (n=22; 12.2%); 4) telemedicine/telehealth (n=12; 6.8%); 5) social determinants of health (n=14; 8%); 6) airborne infection prevention and control (n=8; 4.6%); 7) health system strengthening (n=22; 13%); 8) mental health (n=13; 7.4%); 9) stigma (n=11; 6.3%); and 10) health education (n=10; 5.7%). Limitations: Heterogeneity of publications within themes. Conclusions: We identified ten globally generalizable themes of COVID-19’s impact on TB. These thematic areas will guide evidence-informed policies to strengthen comprehensive global responses, recovery for TB, and future airborne pandemic preparedness.

show abstract

Experiences, challenges and looking to the future in a clinical tuberculosis cohort in the time of COVID-19 in the Philippines

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

Retrospective Cohort Study of Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tuberculosis Notifications, Vietnam, 2020

Retrospective Cohort Study of Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tuberculosis Notifications, Vietnam, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines: A scoping review

The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Tuberculosis: A Thematic Scoping Review, 2020-2023

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About