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.