Tuberculosis screening and treatment in children.

Tuberculosis continues to be a major health care problem in the world, especially among children. In the United States, health care providers rely heavily on routine skin testing to identify cases of tuberculosis. Pediatric nurse practitioners have the opportunity to recognize high-risk children, teach preventive health practices to patients and families, and thus to decrease morbidity from the disease. This article presents an overview of the incidence of the disease, as well as the causes, pathophysiology, epidemiology, diagnosis and management of tuberculosis.