FREQUENCY OF PEDIATRIC (LESS THAN 15 YEARS) PULMONARY TB CASES IN ALLAMA IQBAL MEMORIAL TEACHING HOSPITAL AND BETHANIA HOSPITAL, SIALKOT IN LAST THREE MONTHS.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60127/sjms.v2i6.33Keywords:
Positive Cultures, Pulmonary Tuberculosis, AFB SmearAbstract
: To evaluate the clinical and bacteriological cases of Pulmonary
Tuberculosis (PTB) in children less than 15 years of age presented in 3
months to determine the ratio of children predictive of confirmed PTB.
Methods: This was a retrospective study of children (less than 15 years of
age) presented to the Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital (AIMTH)
and Bethania Hospital, Sialkot with presumptive diagnosis of PTB. Clinical, bacteriological, and laboratory findings were studied, those with positive
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) cultures, those likely to have PTB based on clinical criteria but with negative cultures, and those who did not meet clinical diagnostic criteria or have positive cultures.
Results: A total of 496 cases of Tuberculosis were observed in Bethania
Hospital out of which 393 were of Pulmonary TB and 103 cases were of
Extra Pulmonary TB. 175 patients were diagnosed at Bethania Hospital with definitive PTB bacteriological confirmed out of which 3 were children below 15 years of age with 2 girls and 1 boy (1.7%) Another 218 patients were clinically confirmed at Bethania Hospital with PTB based on meeting at least 2 of the following criteria: cough lasting for at least 2 weeks, typical chest radiograph changes, purified protein derivative (PPD) ≥10 mm, or history of tuberculosis family contact. Out of these 218 patients, 26 were children below 15 years of age with 13 girls and 15 boys (11.9%). A total of 294 cases of Tuberculosis were observed in AIMTH out of which 109 were of Pulmonary TB and 185 were of Extra Pulmonary TB. 109 patients were clinically diagnosed with PTB at AIMTH out of which 14 were children under 15 years with 6 boys and 8 girls (13.7%). Patients with PTB diagnosed clinically were significantly more likely than those diagnosed
bacteriologically. A total of 502 cases were confirmed for PTB in both
hospitals out of which 44 (8.76%) children were below 15 years of age.
Conclusion: Out of total 502 patients only 44 were children under the age
of 15 years. It is concluded that children under 15 years were significantly
at a lower risk of developing this disease.
