Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of pulmonary function abnormalities and to investigate the factors affecting lung function in patients treated for pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods: A total of 214 consecutive patients (132 men and 82 women; 20-82 years of age), treated for pulmonary tuberculosis and followed at a local dispensary, underwent spirometry and plethysmography at least one year after treatment. Results: Pulmonary impairment was present in 102 (47.7%) of the 214 patients evaluated. The most common functional alteration was obstructive lung disease (seen in 34.6%). Of the 214 patients, 60 (28.0%) showed reduced pulmonary function (FEV1 below the lower limit of normal). Risk factors for reduced pulmonary function were having had culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in the past, being over 50 years of age, having recurrent tuberculosis, and having a lower level of education. Conclusions: Nearly half of all tuberculosis patients evolve to impaired pulmonary function. That underscores the need for pulmonary function testing after the end of treatment.

Keywords: Respiratory function tests; Tuberculosis, pulmonary; Spirometry; Lung diseases, obstructive.

Objective: To compare patients with and without previous lung disease, in terms of the spirometry results after they had been treated for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and cured, as well as to analyze risk factors related to functional severity. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted at four referral centers in Brazil. Patients were divided into two groups: those with a history of lung disease or smoking (LDS+ group); and those with no such history (LDS− group). Patients underwent spirometry (at least six months after being cured). Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. Results: A total of 378 patients were included: 174 (46.1%) in the LDS+ group and 204 (53.9%) in the LDS− group. In the sample as a whole, 238 patients (62.7%) had spirometric changes. In the LDS+ group, there was a predominance of obstructive lung disease (in 33.3%), whereas restrictive lung disease predominated in the LDS− group (in 24.7%). Radiological changes were less common in the LDS− group than in the LDS+ group (p < 0.01), as were functional changes (p < 0.05). However, of the 140 (79.1%) LDS− group patients with a normal or minimally altered chest X-ray, 76 (54%) had functional changes (p < 0.01). The risk factors associated with functional severity in the LDS− group were degree of dyspnea (p = 0.03) and moderate or severe radiological changes (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Impaired pulmonary function is common after treatment for PTB, regardless of the history of lung disease or smoking. Spirometry should be suggested for patients who develop moderate/severe dyspnea or relevant radiological changes after treatment for PTB.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, pulmonary; Respiratory function tests; Airway obstruction/complications.

Objective: To investigate the impact of impaired pulmonary function on patient-centered outcomes after hospital discharge due to severe COVID-19 in patients without preexisting respiratory disease. Methods: This is an ongoing prospective cohort study evaluating patients (> 18 years of age) 2-6 months after hospital discharge due to severe COVID-19. Respiratory symptoms, health-related quality of life, lung function, and the six-minute walk test were assessed. A restrictive ventilatory defect was defined as TLC below the lower limit of normal, as assessed by plethysmography. Chest CT scans performed during hospitalization were scored for the presence and extent of parenchymal abnormalities. Results: At a mean follow-up of 17.2 ± 5.9 weeks after the diagnosis of COVID-19, 120 patients were assessed. Of those, 23 (19.2%) reported preexisting chronic respiratory diseases and presented with worse lung function and exertional dyspnea at the follow-up visit in comparison with their counterparts. When we excluded the 23 patients with preexisting respiratory disease plus another 2 patients without lung volume measurements, a restrictive ventilatory defect was observed in 42/95 patients (44%). This subgroup of patients (52.4% of whom were male; mean age, 53.9 ± 11.3 years) showed reduced resting gas exchange efficiency (DLCO), increased daily-life dyspnea, increased exertional dyspnea and oxygen desaturation, and reduced health-related quality of life in comparison with those without reduced TLC (50.9% of whom were male; mean age, 58.4 ± 11.3 years). Intensive care need and higher chest CT scores were associated with a subsequent restrictive ventilatory defect. Conclusions: The presence of a restrictive ventilatory defect approximately 4 months after severe COVID-19 in patients without prior respiratory comorbidities implies worse clinical outcomes.

Keywords: Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome; Respiratory function tests; Exercise test; Quality of life; Follow-up studies.

Objective: To determine the compliance with tuberculosis treatment among patients enrolled the tuberculosis control program in the city of Carapicuíba, Brazil, before and after the implementation of the directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) strategy. Methods: A retrospective historical cohort study of operational aspects based on records of attendance and treatment evolution of patients in self-administered treatment (SAT) and of those submitted to DOTS. Monthly treatment outcome tables were created, and the probability of compliance with the treatment was calculated for both groups of patients. Results: A total of 360 patients with tuberculosis met the inclusion criteria: 173 (48.1%) in the SAT group; and 187 (51.9%) in the DOTS group. Treatment compliance was 6.1% higher in the DOTS group than in the SAT group. The proportion of patients completing the six months of treatment was 91.6% and 85.5% in the DOTS group and in the SAT group, respectively. Conclusions: The results of this study show that DOTS can be successfully implemented at primary health care clinics. In this population of patients, residents of a city with low incomes and a high burden of tuberculosis infection, DOTS was more effective than was SAT.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Treatment outcome; Medication adherence.

Objective: To estimate the time elapsed between the onset of symptoms and the initiation of treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis among treatment-naïve patients with positive results in sputum smear microscopy, and to evaluate the variables associated with delays in diagnosis and in treatment initiation. Methods: This was a descriptive exploratory study involving 199 treatment-naïve tuberculosis patients ≥ 12 years of age with AFB-positive sputum smear microscopy results between 2006 and 2008. At their first (treatment initiation) visit to a primary health care clinic in the city of Nova Iguaçu, Brazil, the patients were interviewed and their ancillary test results were reviewed. Results: The medians (and respective interquartile ranges) of the time from symptom onset to the initiation of treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, from symptom onset to seeking medical attention, from entry into care to diagnosis, and from entry into care to treatment initiation, in weeks, were 11 (6-24), 8 (4-20), 2 (1-8), and 1 (1-1), respectively. The variables gender, age, level of education, previous use of antibiotics, HIV status, site of first medical visit, and radiological extent of tuberculosis showed no associations with the time from entry into care to diagnosis or to treatment initiation. The main reason for the delay in seeking medical attention reported by the patients was their inability to recognize their symptoms as indicators of a disease. Conclusions: Among the patients studied, there was an unacceptably long delay between the onset of symptoms and the initiation of tuberculosis treatment.

Keywords: Tuberculosis/diagnosis; Tuberculosis/therapy; Delayed diagnosis.

Introduction: The patient with COPD has his global physical activity decreased due to a progressive worsening of the lung function resultant from any kind of physical effort he may perform. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is used in the United States and Europe as an alternative therapy in COPD treatment. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of PR as an ancillary treatment for COPD. Patients and methods: 30 patients prospectively submitted to the PR program developed in six weeks with three weekly sessions. Evaluation included clinical history and complete physical examination, the six-minute walking distance test, maximum workload test for upper limbs, maximum load test for lower limbs, a questionnaire of effort perception, spirometry and analysis of blood gases. Results: Concerning spirometry and analysis of blood gases, pre and post PR program, no statistically significant change was observed (p > 0.05). Pre and post PR program, statistically significant values (p < 0.05) were observed in the decrease in effort perception and increase in functional physical capacity, maximum workload test for upper limbs and incremental test for lower limbs used to determine the maximum workload. Conclusions: The authors concluded that, in the group studied, the PR program increased the patients' physical capacity and maximum workload for upper limbs whereas no changes were observed in the data regarding spirometry and analysis of blood gases.

Keywords: Rehabilitation. Therapeutical approaches. Lung diseases obstructive. Treatment outcome. Exercise therapy.

In the atypical smooth muscle cells that are characteristic of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), there are estrogen and progesterone receptors. Therefore, anti-hormonal therapy, despite having produced controversial results, can be considered a treatment option. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate hormonal and spirometric data for nine women with LAM after one year of treatment with goserelin. The mean increase in FEV1 and FVC was 80 mL and 130 mL, respectively. There was effective blockage of the hormonal axis. It is still not possible to exclude a potential beneficial effect of the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in LAM patients, which underscores the need for randomized trials.

Keywords: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis; Spirometry; Goserelin.

Tuberculosis continues to be a public health priority in many countries. In 2015, tuberculosis killed 1.4 million people, including 210,000 children. Despite the recent progress made in the control of tuberculosis in Brazil, it is still one of the countries with the highest tuberculosis burdens. In 2015, there were 69,000 reported cases of tuberculosis in Brazil and tuberculosis was the cause of 4,500 deaths in the country. In 2014, the World Health Organization approved the End TB Strategy, which set a target date of 2035 for meeting its goals of reducing the tuberculosis incidence by 90% and reducing the number of tuberculosis deaths by 95%. However, to achieve those goals in Brazil, there is a need for collaboration among the various sectors involved in tuberculosis control and for the prioritization of activities, including control measures targeting the most vulnerable populations. Children are highly vulnerable to tuberculosis, and there are particularities specific to pediatric patients regarding tuberculosis development (rapid progression from infection to active disease), prevention (low effectiveness of vaccination against the pulmonary forms and limited availability of preventive treatment of latent tuberculosis infection), diagnosis (a low rate of bacteriologically confirmed diagnosis), and treatment (poor availability of child-friendly anti-tuberculosis drugs). In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and prevention of tuberculosis in childhood and adolescence, highlighting the peculiarities of active and latent tuberculosis in those age groups, in order to prompt reflection on new approaches to the management of pediatric tuberculosis within the framework of the End TB Strategy.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, pulmonary/prevention & control; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Lung diseases/etiology; Child; Adolescent.

Objective: To analyze the association between clinical/epidemiological characteristics and outcomes of tuberculosis treatment in patients with concomitant tuberculosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Brazil. Methods: We used the Brazilian Ministry of Health National Case Registry Database to identify patients with tuberculosis and CKD, treated between 2007 and 2011. The tuberculosis treatment outcomes were compared with epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the subjects using a hierarchical multinomial logistic regression model, in which cure was the reference outcome. Results: The prevalence of CKD among patients with tuberculosis was 0.4% (95% CI: 0.37-0.42%). The sample comprised 1,077 subjects. The outcomes were cure, in 58%; treatment abandonment, in 7%; death from tuberculosis, in 13%; and death from other causes, in 22%. The characteristics that differentiated the ORs for treatment abandonment or death were age; alcoholism; AIDS; previous noncompliance with treatment; transfer to another facility; suspected tuberculosis on chest X-ray; positive results in the first smear microscopy; and indications for/use of directly observed treatment, short-course strategy. Conclusions: Our data indicate the importance of sociodemographic characteristics for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients with CKD and underscore the need for tuberculosis control strategies targeting patients with chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as CKD.

Keywords: Tuberculosis/epidemiology; Renal insufficiency, chronic/epidemiology; Risk factors; Logistic models.

Objective: To evaluate clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients hospitalized for tuberculosis, comparing those in whom tuberculosis treatment was started within the first 24 h after admission with those who did not. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study involving new tuberculosis cases in patients aged ≥ 18 years who were hospitalized after seeking treatment in the emergency room. Results: We included 305 hospitalized patients, of whom 67 (22.0%) received tuberculosis treatment within the first 24 h after admission (≤24h group) and 238 (88.0%) did not (>24h group). Initiation of tuberculosis treatment within the first 24 h after admission was associated with being female (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.06-3.74; p = 0.032) and with an AFB-positive spontaneous sputum smear (OR = 4.19; 95% CI: 1.94-9.00; p < 0.001). In the ≤24h and >24h groups, respectively, the ICU admission rate was 22.4% and 15.5% (p = 0.258); mechanical ventilation was used in 22.4% and 13.9% (p = 0.133); in-hospital mortality was 22.4% and 14.7% (p = 0.189); and a cure was achieved in 44.8% and 52.5% (p = 0.326). Conclusions: Although tuberculosis treatment was initiated promptly in a considerable proportion of the inpatients evaluated, the rates of in-hospital mortality, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation use remained high. Strategies for the control of tuberculosis in primary care should consider that patients who seek medical attention at hospitals arrive too late and with advanced disease. It is therefore necessary to implement active surveillance measures in the community for earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; Hospitalization; Time-to-treatment; Emergency medicine; Delayed diagnosis.

Objective: To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of azithromycin and amoxicillin in the treatment of patients with infectious exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: This study was conducted at six medical centers across Brazil and included 109 patients from 33 to 82 years of age. Of those, 102 were randomized to receive either azithromycin (500 mg/day for three days, n = 49) or amoxicillin (500 mg every eight hours for ten days, n = 53). The patients were evaluated at the study outset, on day ten, and at one month. Based on the clinical evaluation of the signs and symptoms present on day ten and at one month, the outcomes were classified as cure, improvement, or treatment failure. The microbiological evaluation was made through the culture of sputum samples that were considered appropriate samples only after leukocyte counts and Gram staining. Secondary efficacy evaluations were made in order to analyze symptoms (cough, dyspnea, and expectoration) and pulmonary function. Results: There were no differences between the groups treated with azithromycin or amoxicillin in terms of the percentages of cases in which the outcomes were classified as cure or improvement: 85% vs. 78% (p = 0.368) on day ten; and 83% vs. 78% (p = 0.571) at one month. Similarly, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the secondary efficacy variables or the incidence of adverse effects. Conclusion: Azithromycin and amoxicillin present similar efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Keywords: Amoxicillin/therapeutic use; Azithromycin/therapeutic use; Bronchitis, chronic/drug therapy;

Behçet's disease is a systemic disease with clinical manifestations, whose underlying histopathologic lesion is a non-specific vasculitis. Pulmonary artery aneurysms and, more rarely, pleuropulmonary manifestations may be found. Some reports are available in the literature about the use of immunosuppressive agents in these conditions. The authors describe a case in whom clinical remission and radiologic resolution were observed after corticosteroid and cyclophophamide therapy.

Keywords: Behçet's disease. Pulmonary artery aneurysms.

Objective: To analyze factors predictive of noncompliance with pulmonary tuberculosis treatment. Methods: A historical cohort study involving 481 of the 529 active tuberculosis patients registered with the Tuberculosis Control Program in the city of Cuiabá, located in the state of Mato Grosso, during the 1998-2000 period. Data were obtained by analyzing medical charts and registration records. In the bivariate analysis, the chi-square test was used to calculate noncompliance rate ratios (relative risk), 95% confidence intervals were determined, and Fisher's exact test was used. The choice to estimate the rate of incidence was the method of density and a multivariate logistic regression model was constructed in order to identify the variables that were most predictive of noncompliance, using a level of statistical significance of p < 0.05. Results: The global rate of incidence was 27.3%, equivalent to 5.1 noncompliant patients/100 patients/month, increasing in the second and third months of treatment. In the final logistic regression model, the following were considered predictors of noncompliance: unsupervised treatment (odds ratio: 2.58; 95% confidence interval: 1.64 - 4.06; p < 0.001); having been treated during the 1998-1999 period (odds ratio: 1.43; 95% confidence interval: 1.14 - 1.80; p = 0.002); being male (odds ratio: 1.39; 95% confidence interval: 1.10 - 1.76; p = 0.005) and having been out of compliance with previous treatment regimes (odds ratio: 1.37; 95% confidence interval: 1.06 - 1.78; p < 0.017). Conclusion: The results indicate an elevated incidence of noncompliance and show that unsupervised treatment, year in which treatment was received, male gender and prior noncompliance were predictors of future noncompliance.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, pulmonary/therapy; Treatment refusal; Cohort studies