Resource-limited Settings In Asia Research Articles

Stronger together: Implementing patient-reported symptom tool in routine cancer care in diverse Asia—A multi-national pilot feasibility study (PROMiSE-Pilot).

TPS180 Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer often experience disease or treatment-related symptoms, which can be under-elicited and under-appreciated by clinicians during time-poor consultations. This is particularly challenging in Asia where structural disparities in healthcare access mean oncology services are often under-resourced. Five oncologists from Thailand, India, Singapore, Philippines and Australia formed a working group as part of ASCO Asia-Pacific Leadership Development Program (LDP-AP). Systematic symptom monitoring using patient-reported outcomes measures (PROM) was identified as a potential solution to improve care in diverse Asian settings. PROM has demonstrated improved outcomes in Western settings but its utility in resource limited Asian contexts is less well established. A study was developed to evaluate the feasibility of implementing PROM in routine outpatient care across diverse cultural contexts in Asia. Methods: PROMiSE-Pilot is a prospective, multi-centre, feasibility study of integrating PROM in routine outpatient care across Asia. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale questionnaire (ESAS-r) was selected as the PROM tool. Clinicians in 4 hospitals in Singapore, Manila, Bangkok and Hyderabad will be invited to participate, and their patients will be invited to complete the ESAS-r on paper before each visit. The primary aim is to evaluate if proportion of patients who complete ≥5 of 10 items on ESAS-r is ≥85% (Clopper Pearson). Secondary aims include assessing proportion who complete ≥8 and all 10 items and perceived utility of ESAS-r evaluated through surveys adapted to measure patient and clinician satisfaction. Site-specific patient, clinician, administrative barriers and facilitators will be studied. A pragmatic approach to context-specific implementation was adopted with each site developing its own process map for delivering the pilot and adapting to local patient demographics (e.g. low literacy), cultural contexts and resources. Translated versions of ESAS-r were acquired where necessary. Recruitment commenced in March 2024 following ethics approval at 2 sites. 87 patient encounters have been captured from 5 participating clinicians in Singapore. 5 clinicians have agreed to participate in Bangkok. Target recruitment is 200 encounters per site. Multi-centre data will be presented at the Breakthrough congress. Clinicians from ASCO LDP-AP identified PROM as a low-cost but potentially high-value approach to improving quality of care in resource limited settings in Asia. Understanding the feasibility of such a tool is vital prior to consideration of wider scale adoption by stakeholders. This co-developed multi-national pilot additionally demonstrates the value of collaboration, our strength in diversity and a pragmatic model for investigator-initiated studies in Asia.

Outcomes of COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients in the vaccination Era: A national multicenter cohort from Thailand

IntroductionThe mortality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) has significantly decreased with the implementation of vaccination programs. However, the real-world information on the impact of vaccinations, particularly in resource limited settings in Asia, is still limited. MethodsThe Thai Transplant Society conducted a prospective multicenter cohort registry, including KTR diagnosed with COVID-19. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine factors associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes and complications, including death, COVID-19 pneumonia, and superimposed bacterial infection. ResultsA total of 413 patients from 17 transplant centers who developed COVID-19 were analyzed. The COVID-19 mortality rate was 5.6 % and the incidence of pneumonia was 18.8 %. With each 10-year increase in age, the risk of death, pneumonia, and bacterial infection increased by 61 %, 32 %, and 43 %, respectively. A total of 11.4 % of KTR received one dose of COVID vaccination (incomplete vaccination), 25.7 % received two doses (complete primary vaccination), 42.6 % received three doses (first booster dose), and 10.4 % received four doses of vaccination (second booster dose). Even a single dose of vaccination significantly decreased the risk of death, pneumonia, and superimposed bacterial infection among KTR compared to those who remained unvaccinated. Completing the primary vaccination (2-dose) reduced the risk of death by 89 %, pneumonia by 88 %, and bacterial infection by 83 % compared to unvaccinated KTR. Receiving a booster dose (third or fourth dose) further reduced the risk of death by 94 %, pneumonia by 95 %, and bacterial infection by 96 % compared to unvaccinated individuals. ConclusionsThis Asian cohort demonstrated that the mortality and complications of COVID-19 significantly decreased in KTR after the national immunization. Our study suggests that any type of COVID-19 vaccine can be beneficial in preventing adverse outcomes. Administering booster vaccinations is strongly recommended.

Impact of a structured ICU training programme in resource-limited settings in Asia.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact on ICU performance of a modular training program in three resource-limited general adult ICUs in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.MethodA modular ICU training programme was evaluated using performance indicators from June 2009 to June 2012 using an interrupted time series design with an 8 to 15 month pre-intervention and 18 to 24 month post-intervention period. ICU physicians and nurses trained in Europe and the USA provided training for ICU doctors and nurses. The training program consisted of six modules on basic intensive care practices of 2–3 weeks each over 20 months. The performance indicators consisting of ICU mortality, time to ICU discharge, rate at which patients were discharged alive from the ICU, discontinuation of mechanical ventilation or vasoactive drugs and duration of antibiotic use were extracted. Stepwise changes and changes in trends associated with the intervention were analysed.ResultsPre-Training ICU mortality in Rourkela (India), and Patan (Nepal) Chittagong (Bangladesh), was 28%, 41% and 62%, respectively, compared to 30%, 18% and 51% post-intervention. The intervention was associated with a stepwise reduction in cumulative incidence of in-ICU mortality in Chittagong (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio [aSHR] (95% CI): 0.62 (0.40, 0.97), p = 0.03) and Patan (aSHR 0.16 (0.06, 0.41), p<0.001), but not in Rourkela (aSHR: 1.17 (0.75, 1.82), p = 0.49). The intervention was associated with earlier discontinuation of vasoactive drugs at Rourkela (adjusted hazard ratio for weekly change [aHR] 1.08 (1.03, 1.14), earlier discontinuation of mechanical ventilation in Chittagong (aHR 2.97 (1.24, 7.14), p = 0.02), and earlier ICU discharge in Patan (aHR 1.87 (1.02, 3.43), p = 0.04).ConclusionThis structured training program was associated with a decrease in ICU mortality in two of three sites and improvement of other performance indicators. A larger cluster randomised study assessing process outcomes and longer-term indicators is warranted.

Comparisons of Primary HIV-1 Drug Resistance between Recent and Chronic HIV-1 Infection within a Sub-Regional Cohort of Asian Patients

BackgroundThe emergence and transmission of HIV-1 drug resistance (HIVDR) has raised concerns after rapid global antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up. There are limited data on the epidemiology of primary HIVDR in resource-limited settings in Asia. We aimed to determine the prevalence and compare the distribution of HIVDR in a cohort of ART-naïve Asian patients with recent and chronic HIV-1 infection.MethodsMulticenter prospective study was conducted in ART-naïve patients between 2007 and 2010. Resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) were assessed using the World Health Organization 2009 list for surveillance of primary HIVDR.ResultsA total of 458 patients with recent and 1,340 patients with chronic HIV-1 infection were included in the analysis. The overall prevalence of primary HIVDR was 4.6%. Recently infected patients had a higher prevalence of primary HIVDR (6.1% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.065) and frequencies of RAMs to protease inhibitors (PIs; 3.9% vs. 1.0%, p<0.001). Among those with recent infection, the most common RAMs to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) were M184I/V and T215D/E/F/I/S/Y (1.1%), to non-NRTIs was Y181C (1.3%), and to PIs was M46I (1.5%). Of patients with chronic infection, T215D/E/F/I/S/Y (0.8%; NRTI), Y181C (0.5%; non-NRTI), and M46I (0.4%; PI) were the most common RAMs. K70R (p = 0.016) and M46I (p = 0.026) were found more frequently among recently infected patients. In multivariate logistic regression analysis in patients with chronic infection, heterosexual contact as a risk factor for HIV-1 infection was less likely to be associated with primary HIVDR compared to other risk categories (odds ratio 0.34, 95% confidence interval 0.20–0.59, p<0.001).ConclusionsThe prevalence of primary HIVDR was higher among patients with recent than chronic HIV-1 infection in our cohort, but of borderline statistical significance. Chronically infected patients with non-heterosexual risks for HIV were more likely to have primary HIVDR.

The Epidemiology of Pediatric Bone and Joint Infections in Cambodia, 2007-11

There are limited data on osteoarticular infections from resource-limited settings in Asia. A retrospective study of patients presenting to the Angkor Hospital for Children, Cambodia, January 2007–July 2011, identified 81 cases (28% monoarticular septic arthritis, 51% single-limb osteomyelitis and 15% multisite infections). The incidence was 13.8/100 000 hospital attendances. The median age was 7.3 years, with a male/female ratio of 1.9:1; 35% presented within 5 days of symptom onset (median 7 days). Staphylococcus aureus was cultured in 29 (36%) cases (52% of culture-positive cases); one isolate was methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Median duration of antimicrobial treatment was 29 days (interquartile range 21–43); rates of surgical intervention were 96%, and 46% of children had sequelae, with one fatality. In this setting osteoarticular infections are relatively common with high rates of surgical intervention and sequelae. Staphylococcus aureus is the commonest culturable cause, but methicillin-resistant S. aureus is not a major problem, unlike in other Asian centers.