Childhood tuberculosis: Characteristics and peculiarities (original) (raw)

Current concepts of childhood tuberculosis

Seminars in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 2005

Tuberculosis (TB) is a social disease with medical implications. An estimated one-third of the world’s population (2 billion people) is infected with the tubercle bacilli. In the year 2000 alone, an estimated 8.3 million new cases of TB occurred, of which 884,019 (10.7%) were in children. Of the total, 659,379 (75%) occurred in 22 high-burden countries, most of which were resource-poor. Despite a growing body of literature demonstrating the substantial impact made by addressing childhood TB, current guidelines are geared toward the treatment and control of TB in adults. This review focuses on TB disease among children younger than 15 years of age, the standard World Health Organization category for TB in children. The purpose of this work is to review the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation of childhood TB. The challenges of accurate surveillance, confirmation of diagnoses, and effective treatment of childhood TB in resource-poor settings are highlighted.

Childhood tuberculosis: epidemiology and natural history of disease

Indian journal of pediatrics, 2011

Despite previous misperceptions that childhood tuberculosis (TB) is less relevant, since children tend to develop mild disease, contribute little to transmission and do not impact epidemic control, awareness is growing that TB is an important preventable cause of disease and death among children in TB endemic areas. At an operational level there remains an urgent need for feasible and implementable policies to guide management in resource limited settings. This manuscript reviews the epidemiology and natural history of TB in children in order to improve understanding of the various disease entities encountered and to provide the rationale for different management approaches.

Consensus statement on childhood tuberculosis

Indian pediatrics

Justification: Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) has focused on adults with smear positivity a tool not so well used in children with tuberculosis. There is a need to redefine standardization of diagnosis and management protocols for childhood tuberculosis. Process: Indian Academy of Pediatrics constituted a Working Group to develop consensus statement on childhood tuberculosis (TB). Members of the Group were given individual responsibilities to review the existing literature on different aspects of the childhood TB. The group deliberated and developed a consensus which was circulated to all the members for review. Efforts were made to ensure that the recommendations are standardized. Objectives: To produce recommendations and standard protocols for reasonably accurate diagnosis and rational treatment of tuberculosis in children. Recommendations: Fever and or cough > 2 weeks with loss of weight and recent contact with infectious case should arouse suspicion of...