The epidemiological characteristics and profile of drug-resistant tuberculosis among children with tuberculosis in Sichuan, China, 2015–2018: A retrospective study. Issue 43 (23rd October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Yuanhong; Li, Qingfeng; Zhu, Ma; Wu, Xueqi; Wang, Dongmei; Luo, Jia; Li, Yingjie; Zhong, Jing; Zeng, Peibin
• Other Names: Rahimi. Fateh section editor.
• Is Part Of: Medicine. Volume 99:Issue 43(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-10-23
• Subjects: child -- drug-resistant tuberculosis -- Sichuan -- Tibetan; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine -- Périodiques; Geneeskunde; Medicine; Periodicals; Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000022608
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-7974

Abstract

Abstract : Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and profile of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) among children with TB in Sichuan province of China. From January 2015 to December 2018, microbiological culture-confirmed child TB cases (aged <15 years old) were enrolled retrospectively. Epidemiological and clinical information from these cases, and the drug susceptibility testing results of the isolates were collected and analyzed. Of 317 culture-confirmed child TB cases, 16.7% (53/317) were aged under 5 years old. 54.9% were Tibetans, and 31.9% had clear history of contact with TB patients. More than half (53.9%) were not vaccinated by Calmette–Guérin bacillus (BCG). Thirty percent (n = 95) were diagnosed as severe TB, and 92.4% (n = 293) were new cases. The ratio of severe TB in BCG vaccinated group was significant lower than that observed in unvaccinated group ( P < .01). Significantly higher proportion of severe TB among Tibetans than Han child TB cases was observed in BCG unvaccinated group ( P < .01). The overall rate of DR-TB in this study was 24.3% (77/317) and 17 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases were identified with rate of MDR-TB at 5.4% (17/317). No extensively drug-resistant case was found. Thirteen out of 17 MDR-TB cases (76.4%) were Tibetan children. The ratio of any resistance to 4 first-line drugs identified were: isoniazid (INH), 15.5%; rifampicin (RIF), 9.1%; ethambutol, 0.6% and streptomycin, 6.0%, respectively. More than half of MDR patterns were resistant to INH + RIF (9/17), followed by at least resistance to INH + RIF + streptomycin (n = 7). This was the first investigation on the epidemiological characteristics and profiles of DR-TB among child TB cases in Southwest of China. Our findings indicated a potentially high risk of TB infection to Tibetan children in the concentrated Tibetan communities of Sichuan.