Culture confirmed multidrug resistant tuberculosis: diagnostic delay, clinical features, and outcome.

AIMS: To determine the delay in diagnosis of multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB), the correlation between drug susceptibility patterns of adult-child contact pairs, the effectiveness of treatment, and the outcome in these children. METHODS: MDR M tuberculosis culture results of children were prospectively collected during a four year period in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, an area with a TB incidence of 589/100 000 population, and a new MDR TB rate of 0.94%. Folder reviews were done to retrieve clinical information. Children not already on treatment at our MDR TB clinic or TB hospital were recalled and appropriate treatment was started. Follow up was done for as long as possible. RESULTS: Thirty nine children, median age 4.5 years at first TB diagnosis and 6.2 years on MDR culture confirmation, were seen. Delay in starting appropriate MDR treatment after TB diagnosis was a median of 2 days if MDR TB source cases were taken into account, but 246 days if the drug susceptibility pattern of the source case was not considered, and 283 days if there was no known tuberculosis source case. Correlation between the drug susceptibility results of the child's and adult source case's isolates was 68%. Seventeen children had smear positive tuberculosis, of whom 13 had cavitatory pulmonary disease. Eight children had central nervous system TB. Thirty six children were treated for MDR tuberculosis, of whom four died. CONCLUSIONS: Obtaining a detailed contact history is essential as a delay in starting appropriate MDR antituberculosis treatment has potentially serious consequences.     

Culture confirmed multidrug resistant tuberculosis: diagnostic delay, clinical features, and outcome

Aims: To determine the delay in diagnosis of multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB), the correlation between drug susceptibility patterns of adult-child contact pairs, the effectiveness of treatment, and the outcome in these children. Methods: MDR M tuberculosis culture results of children were prospectively collected during a four year period in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, an area with a TB incidence of 589/100 000 population, and a new MDR TB rate of 0.94%. Folder reviews were done to retrieve clinical information. Children not already on treatment at our MDR TB clinic or TB hospital were recalled and appropriate treatment was started. Follow up was done for as long as possible. Results: Thirty nine children, median age 4.5 years at first TB diagnosis and 6.2 years on MDR culture confirmation, were seen. Delay in starting appropriate MDR treatment after TB diagnosis was a median of 2 days if MDR TB source cases were taken into account, but 246 days if the drug susceptibility pattern of the source case was not considered, and 283 days if there was no known tuberculosis source case. Correlation between the drug susceptibility results of the child''s and adult source case''s isolates was 68%. Seventeen children had smear positive tuberculosis, of whom 13 had cavitatory pulmonary disease. Eight children had central nervous system TB. Thirty six children were treated for MDR tuberculosis, of whom four died. Conclusions: Obtaining a detailed contact history is essential as a delay in starting appropriate MDR antituberculosis treatment has potentially serious consequences.     

Sero diagnosis of tuberculosis in children using two ELISA kits

The diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis is based on circumstantial evidence in the absence of a gold standard in the majority of cases. Sero-diagnosis offers scope for an early diagnosis in a variety of clinical conditions and is simple to perform. A number of mycobacterial antigens have been used for antibody detection assays and several are available as kits in the market. This study was done to evaluate the value of antibody detection kits (ELISA) against the A60 antigen and 38 kDa antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis at the outpatient department of the Institute of Social Paediatrics, Government Stanley Hospital in collaboration with Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai. Thirty five children with pulmonary tuberculosis, 7 with TB lymphadenitis and 22 healthy controls were studied. In addition to routine investigations including gastric lavage for AFB culture, serum antibodies against the A60 and 38 kDa antigens were assayed using commercially available ELISA kits. With A60, IgM serum levels were positive in 74% of pulmonary TB cases, 57% of TB lymphadenitis cases and 50% of controls. A60 IgG was positive in 17% of pulmonary TB, 86% of TB lymphadenitis and 14% of controls. The 38 kDa IgG antibody was positive in 37% of pulmonary and 86% of TB lymphadenitis cases and 27% of controls. Among 10 culture confirmed cases, A60 IgM was positive in 8, A60 IgG in 3 and 38 kDa IgG in 5 patients. The sensitivity of the tests ranged between 29% and 71% and specificity between 50% and 86%. Although the numbers are small, the results suggest that serodiagnosis using the currently available antigens of M. tuberculosis is unlikely to be a confirmatory test for tuberculosis in children.     

Diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis in the modern era

BACKGROUND: Correctly diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in children is critical to provide appropriate treatment and to detect undiagnosed source cases. However, diagnosing TB in children may be difficult. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether Amplicor, a Food and Drug Administration-approved polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum and computerized tomography (CT) would facilitate the diagnosis of TB in children. We also examined the applicability of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clinical case definition for TB. SETTING: A university-affiliated pediatric hospital in New York City. SUBJECTS: From March, 1995, to November, 1997, 27 children < 15 years of age (mean age, 3.9 years) were evaluated for suspected TB. RESULTS: M. tuberculosis was cultured from 5 of 76 (6.6%) gastric aspirate specimens, and PCR detected M. tuberculosis DNA in 3 (4.1%) of these specimens. There was poor correlation between culture and PCR because 6 specimens were discordant. CT scans were diagnostic of mediastinal or hilar adenopathy in 6 children with equivocal or negative chest radiographs and confirmed adenopathy in 8 others. Six children received alternative diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the commercially available PCR technology had very limited utility in detecting M. tuberculosis from gastric aspirates, but CT scans were useful in assessing pediatric patients with suspected TB.     

Diagnostic value of Elisa serological tests in childhood tuberculosis

Two separate studies (study I and study II) were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of ELISA serological test for the detection of IgG antibodies against specific glycolipid antigen (PGLTb1) and ESAT 6 antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, respectively. These results were compared with bacteriological tests [Ziehl Neelson (ZN) staining for acid-fast bacilli and culture on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium] and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting IS6110 sequence. Both studies were carried out on children with pulmonary, central nervous system, lymph node, and gastrointestinal tuberculosis along with matching controls (65 cases and 27 controls for study I and 83 cases and 22 controls for study II). Informed consents of their parents or guardians were taken. They were subjected to clinical examination, relevant laboratory investigations, tuberculin test and chest radiograph. Relevant body fluids were subjected to bacteriological tests and PCR. Sera samples were analyzed for antibodies against PGLTbl and ESAT 6 antigen in study I and study II, respectively. ELISA tests showed a significantly higher sensitivity (49% study I; 53%, study II) as compared with LJ medium culture method (15.4%, study I; 28.9% study II) and ZN staining (27.7%, study I; 20.5%, study II) in all patients (p < 0.05). The results were comparable with PCR (40%, study I; 42.2% study II). Specificity of ELISA test was 100% in all the patients except in those with pulmonary disease (92.8%, study I; 84.8%, study II). In view of the convenience, low cost and comparable sensitivity with PCR, these ELISA tests have a promising future in the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis.     

Mantoux and contact positivity in tuberculosis

Objective To study the role of Mantoux and contact history in various forms of Childhood tuberculosis. Methods 605 children registered with TB clinic of Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Chennai over a 5 year period from January 2000 to October 2005 with various forms of tuberculosis were recruited in the study. Clinical examination findings, basic investigations, chest skiagrams, computerized tomography (CT) wherever warranted, sputum or gastric aspirates for AFB smear, histopathology wherever possible were analyzed. Results The study showed that Mantoux positivity in various forms of tuberculosis studied is 34.7%. The positivity of Mantoux was highest in lymph node tuberculosis (53%) and the lowest with CNS tuberculosis (21.2%). Among the other forms, Mantoux positivity was 36.4% in TB abdomen, 44.4% in Skeletal TB, 30.3% in pulmonary tuberculosis. The contact positivity was 30.4% in the sample studied. Conclusion The study also reflects that the extra pulmonary forms of tuberculosis seems to be more common in the pediatric population which constituted 79.8% of the cases included in the study.     

Serological diagnosis of tuberculosis

Objective  To evaluate the efficacy of ELISA for the detection of IgG antibodies against antigen 85 complex (Ag 85 complex) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Methods  Children of either sex, 0-18 years of age, attending the outpatient department and admitted in the casualty and wards of the Department of Pediatrics, S.N. Medical College, Agra, were included in present study. The study was carried out on children with pulmonary and CNS tuberculosis along with matching controls (83 cases and 32 controls). Informed consents of their parents or guardians were taken. They were subjected to clinical examination, relevant laboratory investigations, tuberculin test and chest radiograph. Relevant body fluids were subjected to bacteriological tests; ELISA was applied to serum samples for detection of IgG antibodies against antigen 85 complex (Ag85). The result of ELISA was compared with bacteriological tests [Ziehl Neelson (ZN) staining for acid-fast bacilli, culture on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium and culture on BacT/Alert 3D system]. Results  ELISA tests showed a significantly higher sensitivity (59.1%) as compared with LJ medium culture method (19.3%), BacT/Alert 3D system (24.1%) and ZN staining (16.9%) in all patients (p<0.001). Specificity of ELISA test was 71.9%. Conclusion  In view of the convenience, low cost and good sensitivity, ELISA tests have a promising future in the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis.     

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in gastric aspirate and sputum collected from Ethiopian HIV-positive and HIV-negative children in a mixed in- and outpatient setting

AIM: To investigate, through a prospective study, the detection rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputa and gastric aspirate from tuberculous children in a low-income country with high prevalence of tuberculosis and an increasing HIV epidemic. METHODS: Gastric aspirates and/or sputum samples were collected from 355 children with pulmonary tuberculosis as follows: from 136 children under 5 y only gastric aspirate was taken, for 159 children aged 5 to 9 y both methods were used, and for 60 children over 10 y only sputum was analysed. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was based on clinical data, tuberculin test and chest radiography. All children were tested for HIV infection. RESULTS: Direct microscopy for acid-fast bacilli was positive for 55 (15%) and mycobacterial culture for 183 (52%) children. The proportion of positive cultures was similar in all age groups. Among the 5 to 9 year-old children who could produce a sputum sample, sputum gave just as good culture yield of M. tuberculosis as gastric aspirate. Of the clinical or radiological findings only weight loss was associated with a higher yield. Repeat gastric aspirate increased the culture yield by 6%. Mycobacterial culture from HIV-positive children gave lower yield compared with HIV-negative children. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that one gastric aspirate for children less than 6 y and three sputum samples for the older children collected at an outpatient TB clinic, is enough to provide a close to 50% yield of M. tuberculosis available for culture and further analyses. However, with an increasing prevalence of HIV, this detection rate may be reduced.     

Clinical presentation of tuberculosis in culture-positive children. Pediatric Tuberculosis Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Because tuberculosis (TB) in children implies recent infection, children serve as sentinels for disease transmission within a community. Despite the significance of diagnosing tuberculosis in children, most cases are diagnosed on clinical evidence rather than laboratory findings. METHODS: We analyzed the demographic and clinical presentation of 156 children with culture proven tuberculosis using Epi-Info Version 6. RESULTS: Although the clinical characteristics of this population were generally consistent with those seen in previous studies, several unexpected results were observed. Boys were overrepresented in the group of very young children (72% < 1 year). Many of the children had coexisting diseases not known to predispose to TB (37%). Cavitation, usually observed in older children, was seen in four children < or = 1 year of age. Few children were homeless or HIV-infected, but many (42%) lived in female-headed households. Of the adult contacts at risk for TB, many (49%) were recent immigrants to the US. Overall 34% of the population was either foreign born or the children of recent immigrants. CONCLUSIONS: This series of 156 culture-positive children provides an understanding of the risk factors and clinical presentation of pediatric tuberculosis. The data emphasize the impact of the child's environment on the risk for tuberculosis.     

A profile of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis in children

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical profile of children with bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis. STUDY DESIGN: A multicentric study was conducted in three hospitals in Chennai city between July 1995 and December 1997. Children aged 6 months to 12 years with signs and symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis were investigated further. Clinical examination, chest radiograph, tuberculin skin test with 1 TU PPD and, sputum or gastric lavage for mycobacterial smear and culture were done for all and, lymph node biopsy when necessary. RESULTS: A total of 2652 children were registered and tuberculosis was bacteriologically confirmed in 201. Predominant symptoms were history of an insidious illness (49%), fever and cough (47%), loss of weight (41%) and a visible glandular swelling (49%). Respiratory signs were few and 62% were undernourished. Over half the patients with confirmed TB had normal chest X-ray. Abnormal X-ray findings included parenchymal opacities in 47% and hilar or mediastinal lymphadenopathy in 26%. The prevalence of isoniazid resistance was 12.6% and MDR TB 4%. CONCLUSIONS: Children with tuberculosis present with fever and cough of insidious onset. Lymphadenopathy is a common feature even in children with pulmonary TB. A significant proportion of children have normal chest X-rays despite positive gastric aspirate cultures. Drug resistance rates in children mirror the pattern seen in adults in this geographic area.     

Diagnosis of intrathoracic tuberculosis by detection of tubercle bacilli and/or tubercular antigen (TB Ag) in bronchial aspirate

Bronchial aspirates in 160 children were examined for tubercle bacilli and were positive in 55 (34·4%). Tubercular antigen was detected in 56 of 79 children (70·9%). In 60 children in whom AFB or TB antigen was positive in bronchial washing antigen was positive in more than 96·7% of cases, indicating high sensitivity of antigen test. Moreover, antigen is specific for human and bovine mycobacteria. Only 15% of children who had tuberculosis proved by +ve antigen or +ve smear presented with usual characteristic symptoms of tuberculosis. About 75% of the children presented with recurrent or persistent bronchitis or pertussoid syndrome, while in 9% of children there were no significant symptoms. Mediastinal lymphnode involvement is common in children and 80% of AFB/antigen positive cases had only mediastinal lymphnode disease, while 20 also had parenchymal lesions. For the diagnosis of tuberculosis a simple technique such as examination of throat secretions for detection of TB antigen by RIA technique or ELISA has great potential.     

Contribution of the polymerase chain reaction to the diagnosis of tuberculous infections in children

Abstract The purpose of the study was to evaluate the contribution of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to the diagnosis of tuberculous infection in children. Two different PCR techniques were compared to the standard bacteriological methods for the detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis in 157 specimens obtained from the respiratory system of 51 children. Patients were classified in three groups: 12 patients with active disease (57 specimens), 12 patients with silent tuberculous infection (23 specimens) and 27 patients without tuberculosis (77 specimens). One PCR method (PCR/Ag85) used amplification of a fragment of the genes coding for the mycobacterial antigen 85 followed by hybridization of a probe specific forM. tuberculosis on the Southern blot of amplified DNA. The other PCR technique was a nested PCR (NPCR) using double amplification of a fragment of the insertion element IS6110 only present in theM. tuberculosis genome. The sensitivities of the different techniques, compared to the clinical diagnosis, were 7.0% for acid fast staining, 22.8% for culture, 24.6% for PCR/Ag85 and 44.9% for NPCR in active disease, 4.3% for culture, 8.7% for PCR/Ag85 and 28.6% for NPCR in silent tuberculous infection. The specificities were 100% for culture, 94.8% for PCR/Ag85 and 87.9% for NPCR. Among the 12 children clinically considered as having active tuberculosis, 1 had smear positive samples, 4 had at least one positive culture, 7 at least one positive PCR/Ag85 and 9 at least one NPCR positive sample. Among the 12 children having silent tuberculous infection, none had positive smears, 1 had one positive culture, 2 had at least one positive PCR/Ag85 and 5 at least one NPCR positive sample.Conclusion Our study suggests that both PCR techniques, and especially NPCR, are able to detectM. tuberculosis DNA in specimens containing few micro-organisms. PCR methods are more sensitive than culture and the results are available more quickly. Testing multiple samples from the same individual increased the sensitivity. In view of occasional false-positive results, cultures remain the gold standard to establish definitive diagnosis of primary tuberculous infection in children.     

Evaluation of New Strategies for the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis Among Pediatric Contacts of Tuberculosis Patients

BACKGROUND:: In young children, underdiagnosis and diagnostic delay have an adverse effect on morbidity and mortality of tuberculosis (TB). This study evaluated new strategies for early TB diagnosis using an outpatient protocol in children between 0 and 5 years of age, with a recent household TB contact. METHODS:: Case recruitment was performed in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, from 2008 to 2009. Epidemiologic and clinical data, tuberculin test, chest radiograph and 2 induced sputum respiratory samples from each participant were obtained. Laboratory diagnosis was based on Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture, mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) and polymerase chain reaction. We conducted a study of comparison of diagnostic tests and a study of cases and controls to identify the clinical characteristics of the population with positive culture and polymerase chain reaction results. RESULTS:: A total of 102 children were evaluated. Thirty-two fulfilled criteria of suspicion of TB. MGIT was more sensitive (P = 0.035) and faster (P < 0.001) than LJ. Clinical score, MGIT, LJ and polymerase chain reaction presented no concordance or slight concordance. A positive MGIT culture was only associated with a strong tuberculin test reaction (P = 0.026). The combination of MGIT with the clinical score allowed the diagnosis of 33% more cases with little or no symptomatology compared with the exclusive use of the clinical classification. CONCLUSIONS:: The sensitivity and speed of MGIT demonstrate the utility of liquid cultures for the diagnosis in children. Furthermore, these results suggest that the use of MGIT in children presenting recent household TB contact and a strong tuberculin test reaction may be a strategy to improve early TB diagnosis.     

Tuberculosis in New Zealand, 1992-2001: a resurgence

Objective: To describe the recent epidemiology and clinical features of paediatric tuberculosis (TB) in New Zealand (NZ). Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of clinical, laboratory, and radiology records of children <16 years old diagnosed with TB between January 1992 and June 2001 in nine NZ health districts. Results: A total of 274 patients <16 years old were identified; the average annual TB rate was 4.8 per 100 000. Rates rose over time reaching a peak of 10.1 in 1999. Rates were highest in under-5 year olds, at 6.2 per 100 000, and varied by ethnicity: African 575.2, Pacific Island 15.2, Maori 6.4, Asian 5.6, and European 0.6. Seventy two cases (26%) were foreign born. Thirty six per cent of cases were not detected until they presented with symptoms and of these 44% had no known TB contact. Most cases were identified by contact tracing (48%) or immigrant screening (11%); 43% were part of outbreaks. Miliary TB or meningitis occurred in 8% of patients, two of whom died. Drug resistance was found in 7% of culture positive cases and no HIV co-infection was found. Conclusions: A resurgence of TB occurred among children in NZ between 1992 and 2001 predominantly involving non-European and immigrant groups. Despite established contact tracing and immigrant screening programmes, many cases were part of outbreaks, remained unidentified until symptoms arose, or had no known TB contact. These findings point to an unrecognised burden of adult disease, ongoing community transmission, and missed opportunities for prevention. Further study is required to confirm these hypotheses.     

Tuberculosis associated hemophagocytic syndrome in infancy

An infant presented with prolonged fever, generalized lymphadenopathy, splenohepatomegaly, anemia and seborrheic dermatitis. Investigations including bone marrow findings confirmed the diagnosis of hemo-phagocytic syndrome (HPS) and the infant succumbed. Liver biopsy features of epithelioid granuloma and positive AFB culture of gastric aspirate confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). This rare association of HPS and tuberculosis in infancy is reported.     

儿童结核病流行病学及诊治现状

2014年, 全球共报告35.9万例儿童（0～14岁）结核病,占登记报告结核病病例的6.5%。2013年我国研究数据显示,不同结核病疫情地区5～15岁儿童的结核菌素试验（PPD）阳性率为8.09%～21.26%（≥10 mm）。2015年,全国共报告儿童肺结核患者6861例,发病率为3.03/10万。2014年,全国0～14岁儿童结核病死亡率为0.12/10万。儿童结核病诊断要基于对接触史、临床检查和相关检查等证据的全面评估。儿童结核病治疗原则与成人相同。目前国务院下发了《“十三五”全国结核病防治规划》,提出要完善儿童结核病的防治措施,对儿科医生开展结核病防治技术培训,规范儿童结核病的诊断和治疗服务。     

儿童肺结核支气管肺泡灌洗液Xpert MTB/RIF检测的诊断准确性研究

目的探讨支气管肺泡灌洗液的Xpert MTB/RIF检测对儿童肺结核的诊断价值。方法有疑似活动性结核病的临床症状和体征，行纤维支气管镜检查并留取了支气管肺泡灌洗液的患儿为研究对象。以支气管肺泡灌洗液作为病原学检测标本，分别以病原学诊断活动性结核病和临床诊断活动性结核病为金标准，以Xpert MTB/RIF为待测标准，考察Xpert MTB/RIF对病原学和临床诊断结核的诊断价值。基于样本中结核分枝杆菌（MTB）的Ct值反映所检测样本中MTB的载量；通过对利福平耐药位点的检测，对MTB菌株进行药物敏感性检测。结果符合本文纳入标准的疑似结核病患儿351例，男198例，女153例，年龄（5.9±3.9）岁。肺结核患儿125例，其中病原学诊断结核43例（34.4%），临床诊断结核82例（65.6%）；肺结核合并支气管结核51例（40.8%），单纯肺结核74例（59.2%）；非结核呼吸道感染性疾病226例，肺炎支原体肺炎187例（82.7%），细菌性肺炎39例（17.3%）。Xpert MTB/RIF在病原学诊断和临床诊断结核的敏感度分别为79%(95%CI：63%~89%)和51%(95%CI：40%~62%)，差异有统计学意义（χ2=9.18，P=0.002）；肺结核合并支气管结核的敏感度为80%（66%~90%),单纯肺结核的敏感度47%(35%~59%)；病原学诊断和临床诊断结核、合并支气管结核和单纯肺结核特异度均为100%(95% CI：97.9%~100%)。Xpert MTB/RIF检测病原学诊断结核敏感度高于临床诊断结核，肺结核合并支气管结核敏感度高于单纯肺结核，差异有统计学意义（χ2=13.88，P<0.001）；支气管肺泡灌洗液的MTB核酸检出载量病原学诊断结核高于临床诊断结核，差异有统计学意义（χ2=7.37，P=0.025）。76例Xpert MTB/RIF检测阳性患儿中，利福平耐药2例（2.6%）。结论支气管肺泡灌洗液的Xpert MTB/RIF检测在儿童肺结核诊断中具有较高价值，可在缺乏细菌学诊断证据的临床诊断结核病儿童中发现MTB，具有较高的敏感度，有助于提高儿童结核病病原学检出率。     

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??In 2014??a total of 359 000 cases of tuberculosis??0-14 years old?? in children were reported worldwide??accounting for 6.5 percent of the registered TB cases. According to China’s research data in 2013??the PPD positive??≥10 mm??rate of children aged 5 to 15 in different TB epidemic areas was 8.09% to 21.26%. In 2015??6 861 cases of tuberculosis in children were reported nationwide??with a incidence of 3.03/100 000. In 2014??the national TB mortality rate among children aged 0 to 14 was 0.12/100 000. The diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis should be based on a comprehensive assessment of evidence such as contact history??clinical examination and related examinations. The principles of childhood TB treatment are the same as those of adults. At present the state council issued a national tuberculosis control program??put forward to improve the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in children??to provide technical training to pediatricians on TB control??and to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of childhood tuberculosis.     

Intensive short-course chemotherapy in pulmonary tuberculosis

One hundred and twenty children with possible diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis were admitted in this study for evaluating the efficacy of short course chemotherapy regimens in childhood pulmonary tuberculosis and are under follow up. In only three patients smear was positive for AFB. In 74 cases culture for AFB was done of which 18 cases (24·3%) were found to be positive. Fortyone patients were put on a standard one year regimen consisting of streptomycin, isoniazide and ethambutol as a control group and seventy nine patients were put on short-course regimens, consisting of isoniazid, rifampicin and pyrizinamide. Out of these 79 patients, 39 were in a biweekly regimen consisting of isoniazid and rifampicin after initial intensive therapy with three drugs for two months. In majority of patients clinical improvement and in all patients bacteriological improvement was observed at the end of two months period. Marked radiological improvement at the end of therapy was seen in only about two-third patients. Relapse after stopping therapy occurred in one patient with associated tubercular cervical lymphadenitis.     

Tuberculosis en la edad pediátrica: una reflexión sobre la transmisión

Introductionpaediatric tuberculosis (TB) disease continues to be challenge. Difficulties in its diagnosis and limited experience on its treatment in children are some of the reasons to consider the need for specialized paediatric TB centres and to prioritize children in tuberculosis control programmes, particularly in low-incidence countries. We describe the paediatric tuberculosis cases managed in a specialized paediatric outpatient TB centre.Patients and methodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of epidemiological and clinical data on TB cases in patients aged less than 18 years in the period ranging from January 2007 to June 2017.ResultsWe identified 46 cases of TB. The median age of the patients was 5 years (IQR: 1.75-13.25). Thirty cases (65.2%) were identified through screening following exposure to TB. Thirty-six children (78%) presented with a median duration of symptoms was 2 weeks, the most frequent being cough (54%) and fever (48%). The findings of the chest radiograph were abnormal in 73.9% of patients, and a CT scan was performed in 82.2%, the findings of which contributed significantly to the decision to treat in 85.3%. Despite collection of different microbiological specimens, diagnostic confirmation was possible in only 12 cases (26.1%). The results of culture and/or nucleic acid amplification tests were positive in 33.3% of samples of sputum, 28.1% of bronchoalveolar lavage and 12.9% of gastric aspirates. The most frequent diagnosis was pulmonary TB (n=31), followed by pleuropulmonary TB (n=6), lymph node disease (n=3), uveitis (n=2), bone tuberculosis, disseminated TB, cerebellar tuberculoma and erythema nodosum (each n=1).ConclusionsTuberculosis in children is an epidemiological indicator of recent transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the community. Efforts must be made to collect microbiological specimens before initiating treatment whenever possible. Management by an experienced paediatrics team allows an accurate diagnosis even when microbiologic confirmation is not possible.