Follow-Up and Adherence to Treatment of Tuberculosis in Children

Hakan YAZANa , Erkan ÇAKIRb

aBezmiâlem Vakıf University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Chest Diseases, İstanbul, Türkiye
bİstinye University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Chest Diseases, İstanbul, Türkiye

ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis (TB) incidence has been decreasing globally and also in our country, but it still remains a significant public health issue. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018, there were approximately 1,100,000 pediatric TB cases worldwide, accounting for about 11% of the total TB burden. This percentage can vary, with developed countries having around 11% and developing countries going up to 40%. According to the Turkish Ministry of Health’s 2020 Tuberculosis Control Report, children aged 0-14 make up 5.1% of the 10,948 TB cases in Turkey. The diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of childhood TB have some differences compared to adult TB. While reactivation TB is most common in adults, children more frequently present with primary TB, which has a lower bacterial load. Additionally, the difficulty in obtaining respiratory samples such as sputum in children results in lower rates of detecting the bacteria. Therefore, diagnosis in children often relies on clinical and radiological findings in addition to a history of contact with active TB cases. In addition to the challenges in diagnosing childhood TB, treatment adherence and follow-up are essential considerations. The absence of formulations of drugs specifically designed for children is one of the significant obstacles to maintaining treatment. In this section, we will discuss treatment adherence and follow-up for pediatric patients diagnosed with TB.
Keywords: Tuberculosis; pediatrics; therapy

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