Background: Fourteen thousand (14, 000) people fell ill with Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) or Rifampicin-Resistant (RR) Tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa (SA) in 2019. Aminoglycosides, which are commonly used anti-tuberculosis drugs in the treatment for RR/MDR-TB patients, are associated with ototoxicity (cochlear or vestibular). Aminoglycoside-induced cochleotoxicity is characterised by permanent, bilateral, highfrequency (HF) sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The impact of hearing loss (HL) due to aminoglycoside-induced cochleotoxicity can influence a patient's communication, psychological, physical functioning and overall well-being negatively and lead to a reduced quality of life (QoL). To reduce the risk of aminoglycoside-induced cochleotoxicity, patients' hearing thresholds are monitored (i.e., cochleotoxicity monitoring) when they are being treated with cochleotoxic aminoglycosides. Cochleotoxicity monitoring is performed to detect a significant threshold shift (STS) early and prevent further deterioration of hearing thresholds and avoid hearing loss which may end up affecting frequencies that are important for speech perception. When a STS or hearing loss is detected during cochleotoxicity monitoring, there are various intervention strategies that can be implemented by the treating medical personnel to avoid further deterioration of patient's hearing thresholds. These strategies may include discontinuing the aminoglycoside, changing the aminoglycoside to a less cochleotoxic alternative in the regimen or changing the frequency of administration of the aminoglycoside. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the effectiveness of different strategies used when a STS in hearing occurred during cochleotoxicity monitoring to prevent further deterioration in hearing thresholds. Methodology: A descriptive prospective repeated-measures design was used in this study. Patients who underwent RR/MDR-TB treatment with Kanamycin, a cochleotoxic aminoglycoside, at Brooklyn Chest Tuberculosis Hospital (BCH) between June to December 2016 were recruited to participate in the study. Only patients (n= 69) with normal hearing thresholds (i.e., pure tone average (PTA) at 500 Hz, 1 kHz and 2 kHz ≤ 25 dB HL) at baseline and age 18 – 55 years were included. Patients who were receiving two aminoglycosides, were retreatment patients or had active middle ear (ME) pathology were excluded from this study. Participants were sampled via a purposive sampling strategy. All audiological testing was performed in a sound-treated booth and participants underwent the following types of assessment; baseline, periodic monitoring, and diagnostic assessment (when indicated). The following tests were performed at baseline: case history, otoscopy (OT), tympanometry (TYMP), conventional pure tone audiometry (cPTA) including air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC), and ultra-high frequency audiometry (UHFA). Follow-up monitoring assessment occurred monthly if there was no significant change in hearing thresholds, and biweekly if an STS was detected. The ASHA criteria were used to determine STS. The degree of hearing loss was described as mild, moderate, moderately-severe, severe or profound and the type of hearing loss was either conductive, sensorineural, or mixed. Both descriptive and inferential (Chi-squared, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis) statistical tests were used for data analysis. Results: A total of sixty-nine (69) patients who were undergoing treatment for RR/MDR-TB were recruited to participate in this study. Five participants dropped out of the study due to various reasons, therefore, leaving 64 participants in the study. There was 38 males and 26 females. The median age was 31 [range; 18 - 55] years old. An aminoglycoside-induced cochleotoxicity incidence of 90.6% (58/64) was found in this study. There were no statistically significant associations between the occurrence of STS and age (p = 0.487), sex (p = 0.329) and HIV status (p = 0.764). Three types of intervention strategies were used when a participant experienced an STS: (i) discontinue Kanamycin (Strategy A), (ii) modify the frequency of Kanamycin administration (Strategy B), (iii) and leave the regimen unchanged, i.e., no intervention (Strategy C). A smaller proportion of participants, 12 out of 33, experienced further deterioration of hearing thresholds after intervention strategy A (discontinue Kanamycin) was used, when compared to participants who underwent intervention strategies B and C, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.056). Conclusion: This study found a high incidence of cochleotoxicity among patients receiving Kanamycin treatment for RR/MDR-TB. The results showed that discontinuing Kanamycin led to fewer participants developing further deterioration of hearing thresholds, although not statistically significant. There were no statistically significant associations between the occurrence of STS and age, sex, and HIV status. This study had some limitations; only cochlear hearing loss was investigated, participants were not followed up beyond six months, and genetic testing was not performed. Nonetheless, this study revealed that fewer participants had further significant threshold shifts after discontinuing Kanamycin, and for those patients who still receive regimens containing aminoglycosides, these findings are relevant.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a notorious opportunistic pathogen, is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. The newest generation of β-lactam antibiotics, the carbapenems, are often used to treat multi-drug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa infections. Treatment of P. aeruginosa has become increasingly difficult due to its remarkable ability to resist antibiotics through various intrinsic and acquired mechanisms. Physicians rely on a limited group of antibiotics to treat these infections, but many P. aeruginosa isolates are evolving to become resistant to all available antibiotics, including carbapenems. The multifaceted mechanisms underlying P. aeruginosa antibiotic resistance include β -lactamases, efflux pumps, altered membrane porins, and antibiotic binding site mutations of the penicillin binding proteins. There is an urgent need for continued research to better understand the resistance mechanisms used by P. aeruginosa, in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies. The purpose of this project was to investigate the effect of β-lactam antibiotics used in combination with the known efflux pump inhibitor mefloquine, on the growth of MDR P. aeruginosa. The effect of the combination of mefloquine andβ-lactams was investigated in vitro using the checkerboard method. In vitro assays showed that mefloquine when combined with certain β-lactam antibiotics produced no significant additional inhibition than the β-lactams antibiotics alone on MDR P. aeruginosa. Mefloquine, in combination with various β-lactams, did not restore clinically relevant sensitivity, even in those isolates where resistance is thought to be mediated by efflux pumps.

This quantitative, descriptive study investigated factors that contributed to TB patients registered in four Tembisa clinics in 2001, defaulting treatment. An interview schedule with closed and open-ended questions was used for 30 patients who could be traced who had interrupted treatment. The reasons for treatment interruption were related to socio-economic, TB policy-related and health care worker-related factors. The findings illustrate that TB management requires a multi-sectoral approach and joint efforts to tackle the disease that continues to kill people even though it is curable. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The study investigated the knowledge levels of clients on long-term tuberculosis (TB) treatment at Kwekwe General Hospital, Zimbabwe. A quantitative, descriptive research design was chosen and data was collected using a structured questionnaire with a convenience sample of 60 clients on TB treatment and 10 professional nurses. The major findings of the study were that although clients had some knowledge about their condition, there was a lack of knowledge regarding critical aspects such as information on drug-resistant TB and the Directly Observed Therapy Short Course. The professional nurses experienced constraints such as insufficient time for appropriate health education and home visits. Based on the study findings and conclusions, several recommendations were made. / Health Studies / Thesis(M.A(Health Studies))

On the verge of entering the post-antibiotic era, numerous efforts are in place to regain the waning charm of antibiotics which are proving ineffective against most “Superbugs”. Engineered nanomaterials, especially gold nanoparticles (GNPs) capped with antibacterial agents, are proving to be an effective and novel strategy against multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria. In this study, we report a one-step synthesis of antibioticcapped GNPs (25 ± 5 nm) utilizing the combined reducing and capping ability of a cephalosporin antibiotic, ceftazidime. No signs of aggregation or leaching of ceftazidime from GNP surface was observed upon its storage. Antibacterial testing showed dosedependent broad spectrum activity of Cef-GNPs against both Gram-positive (S. bovis and E. durans) and Gram-negative (P. aeruginosa and E. aerogenes) bacteria. A significant reduction in the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of Cef-GNPs was observed as compared to the ceftazidime by itself against Gram-negative bacteria. The MIC of Cef- GNPs were 0.1 mg mL-1 (P. aeruginosa and E. aerogenes) and 1.2 mg mL-1 (E. durans and S. bovis). Cef-GNPs exerted bactericidal action on both P. aeruginosa and E. durans by disrupting the cellular membrane resulting in leakage of cytoplasmic content and death of bacterial cell. Our investigation and results provides an additional step in the development of antibiotic capped GNP as potent next generation antibacterial agents.

This quantitative, descriptive study investigated factors that contributed to TB patients registered in four Tembisa clinics in 2001, defaulting treatment. An interview schedule with closed and open-ended questions was used for 30 patients who could be traced who had interrupted treatment. The reasons for treatment interruption were related to socio-economic, TB policy-related and health care worker-related factors. The findings illustrate that TB management requires a multi-sectoral approach and joint efforts to tackle the disease that continues to kill people even though it is curable. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The study investigated the knowledge levels of clients on long-term tuberculosis (TB) treatment at Kwekwe General Hospital, Zimbabwe. A quantitative, descriptive research design was chosen and data was collected using a structured questionnaire with a convenience sample of 60 clients on TB treatment and 10 professional nurses. The major findings of the study were that although clients had some knowledge about their condition, there was a lack of knowledge regarding critical aspects such as information on drug-resistant TB and the Directly Observed Therapy Short Course. The professional nurses experienced constraints such as insufficient time for appropriate health education and home visits. Based on the study findings and conclusions, several recommendations were made. / Health Studies / Thesis(M.A(Health Studies))

Hyperthermia is usually used at a sub-lethal level in cancer treatment to potentiate the effects of chemotherapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of heating rate in achieving synergistic cell killing by chemotherapy and hyperthermia. For this purpose, in vitro cell culture experiments with a uterine cancer cell line (MES-SA) and its multidrug resistant (MDR) variant MES-SA/Dx5 were conducted. The cytotoxicitiy, mode of cell death, induction of thermal tolerance and P-gp mediated MDR following the two different modes of heating were studied. Doxorubicin (DOX) was used as the chemotherapy drug. Indocyanine green (ICG), which absorbs near infrared light at 808nm (ideal for tissue penetration), was chosen for achieving rapid rate hyperthermia. A slow rate hyperthermia was provided by a cell culture incubator. The results show that the potentiating effect of hyperthermia to chemotherapy can be maximized by increasing the rate of heating as evident by the results from the cytotoxicity assay. When delivered at the same thermal dose, a rapid increase in temperature from 37 °C to 43 °C caused more cell membrane damage than gradually heating the cells from 37 °C to 43 °C and thus allowed for more intracellular accumulation of the chemotherapeutic agents. Different modes of cell death are observed by the two hyperthermia delivery methods. The rapid rate laser-ICG hyperthermia @ 43 °C caused cell necrosis whereas the slow rate incubator hyperthermia @ 43 °C induced very mild apoptosis. At 43 °C a positive correlation between thermal tolerance and the length of hyperthermia exposure is identified. This study shows that by increasing the rate of heating, less thermal dose is needed in order to overcome P-gp mediated MDR.

Background: Disabling hearing loss is a global burden. This burden is worsened by the emergence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Some of the medications used to treat MDR-TB are damaging to the cochlea and auditory nerve (ototoxic) and can lead to permanent hearing loss and/or balance disorders. Ototoxicity monitoring aims to reduce this burden by preventing or minimising the damage caused by ototoxic treatment as it can progress and worsen speech perception difficulties. However, the proposed test battery for ototoxicity monitoring is lengthy and demands active participation which is not ideal for ill patients (such as those on MDR-TB treatment). The Sensitive Range of Ototoxicity (SRO) technique is recommended to shorten the test time. The SRO consists of seven consecutive relatively high frequencies determined from the highest frequency the participant responded to. The SRO technique is time efficient. Although the SRO technique provides the prospect of a shortened test battery, there is still a global lack of audiologists. Automated audiometry is a vital application for testing especially when audiologists are not available to physically do the test. Automated audiometry has been previously validated. Clinically, automated audiometry is objective and allows for standardisation. Even though automated audiometry helps improve access to monitoring more patients, patient preference is an important factor when using automated audiometry to ensure patient-centred care is not compromised. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the specificity and sensitivity of the SRO technique with automated audiometry compared to the gold standard (manual audiometry). This comparison was made by firstly, determining the testing time efficiency and the correlation of thresholds obtained with the different test methods and, secondly, testing the diagnostic value of automated audiometry using the SRO technique. The incidence of an ototoxicity-induced hearing loss was described by determining the time interval between starting ototoxic MDR-TB treatment and the onset of a significant threshold shift (STS) according to ASHA's criteria. Lastly, the test method preference of the participants with MDR-TB was described and compared using a short exit survey. Study Design: A prospective repeated-measures study design was used. Participants were chosen based on a risk factor (i.e. exposure to ototoxic medication) for an outcome of interest (i.e. the presence or absence of an STS). With a repeated measures study, multiple tests using different test methods can be compared with the same sample. Participants: Twenty-seven in-patients at Brooklyn Chest Hospital and DP Marais TB Hospital with normal hearing and on MDR-TB medication were included in the study. Their age range was from 19 to 51 years old with an average age of 33 years old. Non-probability convenience sampling was used as it was cost-effective, reduced data collection time and was relatively easy to execute. Data collection materials and procedures: The procedure for data collection included weekly follow-up testing for a maximum of four weeks. The test battery was as follows: an auditory symptom questionnaire, otoscopy examination, and manual and automated audiometry using the SRO technique with a fifteen-minute break in between. Participants were tested with the KUDUwave ™ in a non-sound treated room. The frequency range was determined with the SRO technique. If an STS was obtained, the patient was discharged from the study after completing an exit survey. Statistics: Analysis included descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. A Bonferroni corrected p-value (initially p ≤ 0.05) was used. Manual and automated audiometry thresholds were compared using the Pearson's Correlation Coefficient test. Manual and automated audiometry testing time and threshold means were compared using paired sample's t-tests. The diagnostic value of automated audiometry with the SRO technique was assessed with Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) Curves. Results: Manual audiometry was statistically more time-efficient compared to automated audiometry by an average of one minute and ten seconds (t (94) = -5.44; p< 0.003). There was a strong positive correlation for both left and right ears between the thresholds' obtained from manual and automated audiometry at 8kHz to 16 kHz (df> 28 = r > 0.70, p< 0.003). Automated audiometry was found to be a fair diagnostic test (area under the curve was 0.75; p= 0.002). Also, the ROC curve revealed that automated audiometry had a sensitivity of 61% and specificity of 90% when compared to manual audiometry (gold standard). Only participants that started data collection within 31 days after starting their MDR-TB treatment were included in the analysis of determining the incidence of an ototoxicity-induced hearing loss (n= 24 ears). This study found that 41.67% of ears (n= 10) had an ototoxicity-induced hearing loss. A box and whisker plot revealed that data was skewed to the right (i.e. more variation in data between the median and the maximum values) and that the median number of days for an ototoxicity-induced hearing loss to appear was 33 days. Secondly, 55.55% of participants (n=15 out of 27) reported auditory symptoms before data collection commencement. Aural fullness was the most reported symptom (n= eight out of 15). Ten out of 15 (66.66%) participants that reported auditory symptoms obtained an ototoxicity-induced hearing loss. Lastly, most participants (i.e. 13 out of 19; 68.42%) that completed the exit survey had no preference between manual or automated audiometry. The common rationale among these participants was “No difference noted.” Conclusion: This research study has revealed that manual audiometry was more time-efficient compared to automated audiometry in patients with MDR-TB. Also, automated audiometry was a fair diagnostic test. It may aid in reducing the disproportionate audiologist to patient ratio, especially in a developing country. However, manual audiometry (with the SRO technique) is more clinically appropriate in patients that are difficult-to-test. Secondly, audiometric settings can be changed to accommodate testing frequencies in 1/6 octaves so that the SRO technique can be clinically adopted. An ototoxicity-induced hearing loss seems to appear 33 days after ototoxic MDR-TB treatment commencement. Aural fullness was a commonly reported symptom among participants with MDRTB. Aural fullness is omnipresent in peripheral auditory pathologies. Therefore, auditory symptoms reported by patients' needs a comprehensive audiological investigation. Lastly, more research is needed on how patients (and clinicians) experience the advances in technology innovation especially in audiology where technology innovation is continuously evolving.

Over time, “superbugs,” or bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics, have become a great concern in modern medicine. Viable alternates are currently being looked into as effective and safe ways to prevent or treat infections caused by these superbugs. One such method is through the utilization of the second messenger molecule cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP) that has been shown to regulate phenotypes within other bacteria that may control surface colonization in Acinetobacter baumannii. Through a series of experiments, the active enzymes that create c-di-GMP - diguanylate cyclases - and break down c-di- GMP - phosphodiesterases - have been inactivated in mutants to test phenotypes including biofilm formation, motility, antibiotic resistance, and desiccation survival. The research’s objective is to show that manipulation of c-di-GMP within the multi-drug resistant strain of Acinetobacter baumannii may serve as a means to control this bacteria.