27 Jan

Proceedings: Global Consultation on Best Practices in the Delivery of Preventive Therapy for Households Exposed to Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

On April 12-13, 2015, members of the Sentinel Project participated in the “Global Consultation on Best Practices in the Delivery of Preventive Therapy for Households Exposed to Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis” held in Dubai, UAE at the Harvard Medical School Center for Global Health Delivery–Dubai. A global panel of 51 tuberculosis practitioners from 33 cities in 19 countries gathered to synthesize evidence and produce practical guidance for the management of children and adults who are household contacts of patients with DR-TB. Download the full meeting proceedings “Global Consultation on Best Practices in the Delivery of Preventive Therapy for Households Exposed to Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis” as a PDF here.

A policy brief outlining principles and recommendations for the management of children and adults who are household contacts of patients with DR-TB was also produced from the meeting. Download the policy brief “Post-Exposure Management of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Contacts: Evidence-Based Recommendations” as a PDF here.

09 Nov

SAVE THE DATE – Pediatric DR-TB Symposia, Poster Sessions and More at the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health

From December 2nd through 6th, 2015, TB researchers, practitioners, caregivers and advocates from around the world will be convening in Cape Town, South Africa for the 46th annual Union World Conference on Lung Health. Throughout the conference, experts in pediatric drug-resistant TB – including several Sentinel Project members and partners – will be hosting symposia, poster discussion sessions, oral abstract sessions, post-graduate courses and “Meet the Expert” sessions to discuss new developments in pediatric DR-TB.

We are excited to announce a symposium on Friday, December 4th entitled, “Research is needed to increase children’s access to drug-resistant TB care,” where several Sentinel Project members and colleagues will advocate for improvements in pediatric DR-TB research. For more information on this event, read our blog post here.

In addition to this symposium, Sentinel Project network members are conducting a post graduate course entitled “Best practices in the management of the second-line injectable drugs in children with multidrug-resistant TB,” scheduled from 09:00-16:00 on in Room MR 1.41 on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 during the conference. Click here to access the agenda for this event and see here for more information on pediatric DR-TB events.

We look forward to many productive discussions in Cape Town this December and hope to see many of you there!

For more information about the 46th annual Union World Conference on Lung Health, please visit their websitehttp://capetown.worldlunghealth.org/.

09 Nov

SAVE THE DATE – Sentinel Project Symposium at 46th Union World Conference, December 4th

On Friday, December 4, 2015, the Sentinel Project will be hosting a symposium entitled, “Research is Needed to Increase Children’s Access to Drug-Resistant TB Care,” at the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa. This event will bring together pediatric DR-TB researchers, caregivers and advocates to discuss the current needs and advances in research for children with drug-resistant TB.

Presentation topics will include research priorities for pediatric DR-TB, the need for child-focused program targets, pediatric DR-TB clinical trials, opportunities for and barriers to development of pediatric second-line drug formulations, and advocacy strategies for pediatric DR-TB research.

The Symposium will be held from 13:30 to 15:00 in Room MR 2.44-2.46 on Friday, December 4, 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. We hope to see you there!

For more information on the event, see the agenda here or the advertisement for the event here.

For more information about the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health, visit the conference website here.

10 Jul

Burden of childhood tuberculosis in 22 high-burden countries: a mathematical modeling study

Members of the Sentinel Project Network have published a paper titled, “Burden of childhood tuberculosis in 22 high-burden countries: a mathematical modelling study.” The paper was published in early online publication in the The Lancet Global Health on July 9, 2014. The aim of this paper is to estimate the incidence of infection and disease in children, the prevalence of infection, and household exposure in the 22 countries with a high burden of disease.

You can access an article highlighting the paper here.

Full Reference: Burden of childhood tuberculosis in 22 high-burden countries: a mathematical modelling study Dr Peter J Dodd PhD,Elizabeth Gardiner MSc,Renia Coghlan MPH,James A Seddon PhD The Lancet Global Health – 9 July 2014  DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70245-1

15 Sep

Pediatric TB course in Dhaka, Bangladesh

On July 15 2013, the Sentinel Project, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development’s TB CARE II project, organized “Improving the Quality of Care for Children with Drug-Resistant TB” in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The workshop was attended by a total of 35 participants, primarily pediatricians from public and private hospitals and medical colleges. Local and international experts presented on pediatric MDR TB, diagnostic and treatment challenges, strategies for ensuring treatment adherence, monitoring and infection control. A special session demonstrated the gastric aspirate, a technique used for obtaining sputum samples from very young patients.  Participants discussed and recommended priority actions for scaling up the availability of services for pediatric MDR TB patients in Bangladesh. The recommendations include establishing a working group to oversee the planning and implementation of pediatric MDR-TB activities and provide clinical guidance; the design and implementation of a pilot project on contact tracing including specimen collection and referral; conducting operational research to support policy and strategy formulations; and updating medical curricula to improve education on the management of childhood TB.

15 Sep

Poster on second-line MDR-TB medications

We are pleased to share a recent poster presentation: “Administering Second-Line Antituberculous Medications to Children with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Qualitative Study.” The poster was presented by Erica Lessem at the Clinical Pharmacology Workshop on New TB Drugs on September 9, 2013 in Denver Colorado. This poster presents results from a very small qualitative study of clinicians providing care to children with MDR-TB, and points to the need to improved pediatric formulations for second-line drugs.

07 Jun

Pediatric TB course in Chennai, India

From June 17-19 2013, the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis and the Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant TB sponsored a training workshop on “Improving the Quality of Care for Children with TB and Drug-Resistant TB” in Chennai, India. The workshop was attended by 48 participants, primarily pediatricians from the public, private, and university sector, including all states of India and Nepal. The course was well-received by participants and all participants were engaged actively in the program. There was lively discussion and debate on both clinical and policy issues. The summary report can be found here, and recommendations can be found here.

21 Mar

New collection of stories published: “We Can Heal”

We Can Heal ThumbnailOn March 21, 2013, the Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and Treatment Action Group (TAG) published We Can Heal, a collection of stories of 30 children in 30 countries affected by this disease. The stories call for urgent attention to this global threat to children, and are a testament to the need for improved programs, policies, and tools. The global community must commit long overdue political will and resources to address the gaps identified in this collection and to tackle all forms of TB in children necessary to achieve zero TB deaths, new infections, and suffering.  

04 Dec

Request for submissions: Child DR-TB stories

PDF Cover Pic

The stories submission page for Phase II of the Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis is now live! Check it out here.

As the January 24th deadline approaches, we are still working to collect stories from as many countries as possible to highlight in our next report, which will be launched on World TB Day, March 2013.  Please help us identify stories of children with DR-TB to highlight in our report.  It can be a child who died with or without treatment, or a good outcome — we are gathering both.

Alternatively, if you do not personally know of any cases, but know of a colleague who might, please pass this request along and refer them to the new “submissions page” of the Sentinel Project website.  There are links available on the submissions page where they can download the story collection framework document in English (attached), French, Spanish and Russian — this framework includes a consent form and details the type of information we are looking to include in the stories we collect.

We look forward to working together to advocate for better drugs and drug formulations, diagnostics, and access to care for children with DR-TB!

Stories and/or completed frameworks can be sent to sentinel_project@hms.harvard.edu and questions directed to Lindsay McKenna at Lindsay.McKenna@treatmentactiongroup.org.