Smartest Doc
Pediatric tuberculosis: new guidelines and recommendations
Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 05/16/2012
Perez–Velez CM – These new guidelines have significant implications for improving pediatric TB care. Regarding diagnosis, current interferon–gamma release assays should not replace tuberculin skin testing, but may be complementary; a polymerase chain reaction assay has been validated for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in microscopy–negative samples, especially in HIV–infected and drug–resistant TB (DR–TB) suspects; and a molecular line probe assay has been validated for detecting DR–TB in microscopy–positive samples and culture isolates in DR–TB suspects.
Methods- To discuss the recommendations pertaining to infants, children, and adolescents in new and updated tuberculosis (TB) guidelines that have been published since 2010 - with emphasis on those from supranational organizations.
- The main developments in the guidelines covered in this article are related to: novel diagnostics for TB infection, disease, and drug resistance; updated treatment regimens for childhood and drug-resistant TB (DR-TB); and primary and secondary prevention of TB disease in HIV-infected children and adolescents.