From Diagnosis to Treatment of Pediatric Tuberculosis: Ten Years Experience in a Single Institution

Abstract

Aim and Objectives. To describe the patient characteristics, clinical-epidemiologic-microbiologic profile, and treatment outcomes, and to draw attention to tuberculosis (TB) in Turkey. Methods. A retrospective, descriptive study was undertaken of 93 children aged 0 to 18 years who were admitted to Hacettepe University Pediatric Pulmonology Department for treatment from January 2005 to December 2015. Review of hospital records was performed for all children diagnosed as having TB. Results. Pulmonary TB was detected in 51.6% of the patients, extrapulmonary involvement in 33.3%, and pulmonary TB with extrapulmonary involvement in 15.1%. The history of contact with an adult with TB was found in 29% of cases. The most common extrapulmonary TB was TB lymphadenitis. The most common symptom was cough followed by fever and night sweats. One fifth of the patients had normal physical examinations at the time of diagnosis. One fifth (20.4%) of the patients had culture, 17.2% had polymerase chain reaction, and 15% had acid-resistant bacillus positivity. In 21.4% of patients with culture growth, at least one anti-TB drug resistance was found. The mean duration of treatment of patients treated according to the national guideline was 8.6 months (range = 6-36 months). Recovery was seen in 91.4% of patients. Conclusion. The most important way to prevent childhood TB is to fight adult TB through early diagnosis and effective treatment. The presence of contact history must direct us to search for TB. While evaluating children with persisted nonspecific symptoms, TB must be kept in mind even if physical examinations are normal.

The frequency and related factors of non‐tuberculosis mycobacteria infections among patients with cystic fibrosis

“…It is routinely applied to almost all children in the second month of life as a single dose 22 . The BCG vaccination rate in our center is similar to the rate in the general population of our country which is bigger than 90% 23,24 . All patients with NTM in this study already had BCG vaccination.…”

Pediatric Tuberculosis In Turkey: A Review of 5-years Period In A Tertiary Care Hospital

“…Çocuk yaş grubunda yeni tanı TB hastalığı çoğunlukla erişkin bir hasta kaynağını işaret etmekte olup sekiz hastamızda (%23.5) TB teması vardı; literatürde bu oran %29-46 arasında değişmektedir (10)(11)(12)(13). Temas öyküsü olguların hepsinde aile içi idi.…”

Mültecilerin kabulünden sonra bir referans çocuk hastanesinde çocukluk çağı tüberkülozu

“…Also 29% of the patients had a history for contact with an adult index case. [1] In an another multicenter study from Turkey, 539 (50.8% male) children with TB aged 10 days-17 years (almost equal distribution in all age groups) from 16 different centers were evaluated over a 12 year period. The authors showed that contact with an index case was present in 39.8% of the patients and they concluded household contact screening techniques act very important role.…”

“…[5,6] Given the unclear non-specific syptoms, low bacillus load in respiratory samples and the low rate of microbiologic evidence, the rates of definitive diagnosis in childhood TB cases are very low. [1] In this study, we aimed to evaluate epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory, microbiologic features, treatment and outcomes of pediatric TB patients. We also aimed to describe the characteristics of immigrant patients due to the risk of uncontrolled migration to Turkey during this period.…”

“…It remains one of the top ten causes of death in all ages worldwide and the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. [1,2] It is was reported that by World Health Organization (WHO) in the 2020 annual global TB report, the TB incidence rate is falling slowly in recent years. The annual incidence of TB in 2019 has been reported as 10 million (range, 8.9-11.0 million) and the rate of children (aged <15 years) was 12%.…”