South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2010 Feb;14(2):149-54.
Limited data are available on the characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) disease in young children, especially in high-burden countries.
To assess the incidence and severity of TB in children aged <5 years.
TB records and chest radiographs of children born in Cape Town in 1999 and diagnosed with TB between 1999 and 2004 were reviewed retrospectively.
A total of 1607 cases were registered. The cumulative incidence of definite (bacteriologically confirmed) and probable (radiological evidence and > or =1 TB clinical feature) TB in children aged <5 years was 2.9% and was highest between the ages of 12 and 23 months. Of 1233 children with definite or probable TB, 506 (41%) had severe disease (dissemination, cavities or >1 lobe involved). The under 5 years incidence of disseminated TB was 0.33%. Of 239 (15%) cases that were bacteriologically confirmed, clinical features typical of TB disease were individually present in <60%. The most common combined symptoms were cough for >2 weeks and weight loss, occurring in 43/239 (18%).
TB incidence was high, and peaked in children aged 12-23 months. Many children experienced severe disease. A fifth of children with microbiologically confirmed disease presented with only one feature typically associated with TB.
关于儿童结核病（TB）的特征，特别是在高负担国家，数据有限。
评估<5 岁儿童结核病的发病率和严重程度。
回顾性分析 1999 年在开普敦出生并于 1999 年至 2004 年间被诊断患有结核病的儿童的结核病记录和胸部 X 光片。
共登记了 1607 例病例。<5 岁儿童确诊（细菌学证实）和可能（影像学证据和/或≥1 项结核病临床特征）结核病的累积发病率为 2.9%，发病率最高的年龄在 12 至 23 个月之间。在 1233 例确诊或可能的结核病患儿中，506 例（41%）患有严重疾病（播散性、空洞或>1 个肺叶受累）。<5 岁儿童的播散性结核病发病率为 0.33%。在 239 例（15%）经细菌学证实的病例中，<60%的病例具有结核病典型的临床表现。最常见的联合症状是咳嗽>2 周和体重减轻，在 239 例中有 43 例（18%）。
结核病发病率较高，发病高峰在 12-23 个月龄的儿童。许多儿童患有严重疾病。五分之一的微生物学确诊疾病患儿仅有一项与结核病相关的特征。
