Clinical evaluation of World Health Organization criteria proposed for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children

Objectives: Because of the difficulty in confirming childhoodtuberculosis, the World Health Organization developeda scale based on clinical parameters. In our studythe utility of this scale was evaluated.Materials and methods: Patients whom were admittedto the Dr. Beh et Uz Children Hospital due to the complaintsof chronic cough, weight loss and/or close householdcontact with adult tuberculosis were included. Patientswere evaluated in according to the history, physicalexamination and/or chest radiography, PPD and theresults of the cultures obtained from fasting gastric juice/sputum and implanted on Bactec and Lowenstein-Jensenculture medium.Results: Totally, 108 patients were included in this study.According to World Health Organization criteria, 24 cases(22.2%) were classified as suspicious, 80 cases (74.1%)as probable and 4 of them (3.7%) as definite tuberculosis.Lymphodenopathy and atelectasis in chest radiographyand in addition lymphodenopathy, bronchiectasis andcalcification in thorax computed tomography were morefrequently seen in the PPD positive group compared withthe PPD negative group (p=0.012, p=0.02). Anti-tuberculosistreatment were not given for twenty four patientswho were included in suspicious group and tuberculosiswere not seen in any of these patients during their sixmonth follow up period. During the six months follow-upof the probable and definite tuberculosis groups, clinicalfindings improved in all of the patients who were treated.Conclusion: World Health Organization diagnosis criteriawere considered to be useful for the diagnosis of tuberculosisin children. J Clin Exp Invest 2012; 3(2): 255-259