Background: Tuberculosis remains to be a major cause of morbidity in children and treatment of latent tuberculosis is important to prevent children from developing active tuberculosis. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness, safety, compliance, and cost of the currently available Latent Tuberculosis Infection treatment regimens, 6 months isoniazid (6H) and 3 months isoniazid plus rifampicin (3HR), based on the 2020 Department of Health National Tuberculosis Control Program Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment guidelines for children. Methodology: In this open label randomized controlled trial pilot study, 30 participants were assigned to receive either 6H or 3HR. Medications were administered daily by either participants (with direct supervision of treatment supporters) or treatment supporters (for younger participants). Data on outcome measures in terms of effectiveness, safety, and compliance were obtained. Direct cost of treatment was computed per patient’s weight category. Independent Z-test for proportion (for effectiveness, safety, and compliance) and mean (for cost) at 5% level of significance was used to compare the outcomes for each treatment group. Results: Twelve subjects (67%) in the 6H group completed per-protocol therapy, compared to 10 subjects (87%) in the 3HR group. The proportion of adverse events was higher in the 6H group (22%) compared to the 3HR group (8%), but statistical tests showed no significant difference for both compliance and frequency of adverse events. No participant developed active TB disease in both groups. The cost of the 6H treatment regimen was 2,180.18 Php while the cost of the 3HR treatment regimen was 1,526.41 Php, with a p-value of 0.0470 which was statistically significant. Conclusions Both 6H and 3HR are effective treatments for latent TB infection in patients 0-18 years old. Both treatments were comparable in terms of safety and ease of compliance, but overall cost was higher in the 6H treatment regimen.
Latent Tuberculosis

Background/Objectives: The current manual processes of manuscript submission, screening, review, and editorial management in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) Journal rely heavily on email exchanges between the authors and journal manager, who acts as the liaison for the editors-in-chief (EIC) and peer reviewers. This method proves inefcient. To address this, the PIDSP Journal Editorial Team created E-REVIEWS, aimed at streamlining journal procedures to boost manuscript submissions, and ensure timely publication. Methodology: E-REVIEWS was developed using Python as the primary computer programming language and Django as the web framework. Gitlab served as the repository and facilitated the turnover of the software requirements from developers to PIDSP website administrators. Extensive internal testing preceded the system’s deployment to the PIDSP Journal website for real-world use. Results: E-REVIEWS yielded 11 modules, each with unique functionalities including Registration/Login, Accounts Management, Dashboard, Author Submission, EIC Initial Screening, Similarity Check, Review, Revisions, Manuscript Layout, Editorial, and Help. Deployment to the PIDSP website occurred on May 13, 2024. Two manuscripts underwent screening, review, and editorial processes seamlessly through the system. Identified bugs were promptly addressed. Conclusion The development of E-REVIEWS hopes to revolutionize research dissemination, ensuring data privacy via its user-friendly automated online manuscript submission, peer review, and editorial process.
Philippines

Objectives: Identifying factors that can lead to an outbreak in an orphanage is important. This study describes a COVID-19 outbreak in an orphanage in the Philippines. The clinicodemographic profile of the children and employees, safety protocols implemented and outbreak response are reported. Methodology: This is a descriptive study of the COVID-19 outbreak which occurred at a local orphanage in Metro Manila. The clinicodemographic profile of children and employees were obtained from the orphanage’s health records. Interview of employees and administrators and focused group discussions (FDG) were done. A questionnaire on how the orphanage dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic was administered. Results: A total of 128 children and 34 staff were in the orphanage during the COVID-19 outbreak. Majority (96%) of children were symptomatic and 15% of them have co-morbidities. While 82% of the employees were symptomatic, majority had a positive rapid antigen test or RT-PCR for SARS-CoV2. All the children and employees had mild illness and recovered with no complications. The orphanage implemented strict infection control measures when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. There was a halt in the adoption processes and in the movement of persons in the orphanage. With the decline of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, the orphanage resumed accepting new admissions and processing adoption papers. A few weeks later, a child became symptomatic but was not immediately considered as a case of COVID-19. This was followed by the majority of the children and the employees becoming symptomatic, thus the COVID-19 outbreak was called. Foremost in the response was to attend to the medical needs of the children. Strict lockdown was enforced by the City Health Office until all cases were deemed not contagious. Conclusion Factors that can lead to an outbreak in an orphanage include missed opportunities for early diagnosis, contact tracing and intervention. Despite strict infection control measures, a single breach undermined all the efforts done to prevent an outbreak in a closed community.
COVID-19 ; Orphanages

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to afflict nations worldwide. The Philippines is no exception which has recorded more than 3 million cases as of December 2021 with children comprising 12% of total cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) has been collecting data nationwide, through an online pediatric COVID-19 registry (SALVACION registry), to provide a better understanding of COVID-19 in children in the local setting. Methods: This was an ambispective cohort study of pediatric COVID-19 cases in the Philippines reported from March 2020 to December 2021. Data on clinical features, laboratory findings, disease severity, and treatment outcomes were voluntarily reported by physicians across the country. This study was approved by the Department of Health Single Joint Research Ethics Board. Results: As of December 30, 2021, there were 2,127 cases reported in the registry, with a median age of 5 years (interquartile range: 1-13 years) and mostly mild (41.9%) or moderate (24.5%) in severity. The top symptoms reported were fever (57.9%), cough (42.7%), coryza/colds (29.4%), anorexia (25.2%), and difficulty of breathing (23.1%). The most common comorbidities were hematologic-oncologic diseases (7.4%), neurologic diseases (7.0%) and surgical conditions (4.4%), while the most common coinfections were sepsis (6.3%), dengue fever (4.8%) and healthcare-associated pneumonia (2.1%). Significantly higher median CRP, procalcitonin, D-dimer, ferritin, transaminases and lactate dehydrogenase were seen among severe/critical cases compared to non-severe cases. There was a high frequency of antibiotic use (58%). Most cases recovered, although 172 deaths were reported with an 8.6% case fatality rate. The most common comorbidities in those who died were neurologic (15.7%), cardiac (12.8%) and hematologic (11.6%) diseases. Conclusion Children across all age groups are susceptible to COVID-19 and most cases are mild or moderate in severity. Among severe and critical cases, the most common comorbidities were neurologic, hematologic-oncologic and cardiac diseases. Most patients recovered with supportive management.
COVID-19 ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Child ; Registries ; Philippines