This guide was developed by the Nursing and Allied Professional Section’s Case Management Working Group, in collaboration with the Nursing Division. It gives detailed guidance on practical aspects of patient care from the onset of symptoms to the completion of treatment. It aims to give health-care workers the tools to ensure the highest possible quality of care whatever their role or circumstances. It is based largely on evidence gathered from experts in the field and has been developed in partnership with the type of health-care providers who will be using the guide in practice.
This manual has also been serialised in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD), starting in March 2008 (Volume 12): click here.

Maintaining and restoring the lung health of children is an important priority. Lung diseases are one of the main killers of children under the age of 5 years and one of the most frequent reasons why they make use of health services. Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the most frequent challenge to lung health and are, by any measure, an enormous problem. They are a prime cause of death in young children, so much so that the overall mortality rate in young children is a good indication of the size of the problem of acute respiratory infection in that community.

The second edition of this Union technical guide focuses on pneumonia (the most serious form of ARI) in children (the most vulnerable group). It incorporates the technical approach to the management of pneumonia in children developed very elegantly by the World Health Organization and proposes a management system (including information, supply and evaluation systems) based on The Union’s experience in dealing with tuberculosis in low-income countries. It goes on to discuss management of asthma and tuberculosis in children, diseases that are ‘uncovered’ when the large burden of acute diseases is systematically cared for. The guide is as simple as possible (many complementary materials exist for reference) and provides the information needed by the most basic level of the health service to address the problem of pneumonia in children. Through this, The Union hopes to help all those engaged in dealing with this large problem to acquire the skills and knowledge to achieve success against this most formidable of threats to the health and survival of the world's children. This manual has also been serialised in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD).

Training materials for this Guide are available for download here:
Participant Manual (PDF 892Ko)
Facilitator Guide (PDF 294Ko)
Powerpoint Presentations: Part 1 Introduction (PDF 181Ko); Part 2: Epidemiology – Case Management (PDF 153Ko); Part 3: Assessment (PDF 260Ko); Part 4: Differential Diagnosis (PDF 186Ko); Part 5: Standard Case Management - Child 2 to 59 Months of Age (PDF 186Ko); Part 6: Standard Case Management - Child less than 2 months of Age (PDF 208Ko); Part 7.a: Severe malaria and pneumonia (PDF 111Ko); Part 7.b: Severe malnutrition/anaemia/ measles and pneumonia (PDF 178Ko); Part 7.c: HIV infection and pneumonia(PDF 77Ko); Part 8: Supportive care medical (PDF 434Ko); Part 9: Supportive care nursing (PDF 434Ko); Part 10: Review of oxygen therapy (PDF 483Ko); Part 11: Counselling and discharge (PDF 170Ko); Part 12: Recording form (PDF 284Ko)

Starting with the historical aspects, this Union guide is an essential compendium for conducting clinical trials. It includes chapters on the four major aspects of clinical trials: design, statistical, operational and laboratory aspects and is complete with ethic considerations, examples of trial forms and other practical information. Tuberculosis remains a disease exacting a heavy burden to health and to the economy in low income countries, the problem being further exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, both conditions imposing an ever increasing burden on the economic as well as the administrative capabilities of these countries. If these burdens are to be overcome, Randomised controlled trials of new drugs will be needed. The development of new compounds requires testing in large-scale trials through the rapid recruitment of large numbers of patients in order to progress logically and to have timely results. Such large-scale trials can only be carried out if a substantial number of centres are engaged. Moreover, to establish the generalisability of results under different genetic, social and behavioural conditions, trials need to be conducted in settings involving the participation of centres in many countries worldwide.

Las enfermeras trabajan con las personas, las familias y las comunidades para promover la salud, prevenir la enfermedad, restaurar la salud y aliviar el sufrimiento.
Teniendo en cuenta la importante función y estratégico papel que desempeñan las enfermeras en la atención del paciente con TB en los servicios de salud, se ha elaborado esta Guía, con la finalidad de contar con un instrumento técnico de consulta, para la implementación y expansión de la estrategia DOTS/TAES.
Esta guía contiene una descripción de los logros alcanzados en el control de la tuberculosis en América Latina y El Caribe. La misma contempla aspectos de prevención de la enfermedad, como organizar la detección y diagnóstico de los casos en los servicios de salud, medidas básicas para garantizar el tratamiento supervisado y el seguimiento de los pacientes, así como el control de los contactos y quimioprofilaxis; también se incluye un capítulo referente al sistema de información.
En este contexto, esta Guía ha sido elaborada con la finalidad de tener un documento técnico normativo en la implementación y expansión de la estrategia DOTS/TAES, que sirva como guía técnica y módulo de capacitación para el personal de enfermería que trabaja en el Programa de Control de Tuberculosis de los países de América Latina y El Caribe; sin embargo, no reemplaza las normas y directrices de cada uno de los países.

Diagnostic of TB in children is difficult. Either children with chronic chest diseases are unnecessarily treated for tuberculosis, or the diagnostic is made so late that the children die or suffer severe lung damage. The goal of this illustrated atlas is to assist health care workers practising in low-income countries in interpreting chest radiographs of children suspected of having TB.