Tuberculosis
Chronic cough Childhood Allergies Snoring Asthma Congenital respiratory disorders Pleural effusion Pneumonia in Children Prematurity related disorders Recurrent and persistent pneumonia Respiratory illnesses associated with neuromuscular disorders Stridor Suppurative lung diseases including bronchiectasis Tuberculosis
What is pediatric tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infection caused by bacteria. The most common organ of involvement is the lung, however any other organ may be involved like kidneys, spine, brain, liver, spinal cord lymph nodes etc.
How does it spread?
Pulmonary tuberculosis is contagious and spreads through air borne droplets. A child can have TB infection and not have an active disease.
What are the different stages of TB?
Various stages of Tb are:
- Exposed When a child has been exposed to an infected patient, but is asymptomatic, Mantoux test is negative and has a normal chest X-ray.
- Latent TB infection. The child after exposure has the TB bacteria in his / her body, but is asymptomatic. Mantoux test is positive but chest x ray is normal.
- TB disease. The child has signs and symptoms of an active infection in the lungs or another site. They can be contagious and spread the disease in case of pulmonary TB if not treated.
How is pediatric tuberculosis different from adult tuberculosis?
- Quite Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) is different in following ways:
- The diagnosis of TB is difficult as they may be completely asymptomatic or have non-specific symptoms
- Confirming the microbiological diagnosis is difficult
- Very often extrapulmonary and disseminated TB is present
- Treatment in children is challenging
- Fortunately, children tolerate the treatment well