Childhood tuberculosis: a report of 2,205 cases.

A total of 2,205 children with the diagnosis of tuberculosis followed at Hacettepe University Ihsan Doğramaci Children's Hospital between the years 1972 and 1992 were investigated in this retrospective study. Sixty-two percent of the patients were less than six years old. There was no gender preponderance among the cases. Thirty-four percent of the patients had predisposing diseases for tuberculosis, such as malnutrition, measles and pertussis. Thirty-five percent of the patients had a history of contact with a tuberculous patient. The most common type of tuberculosis was pulmonary (39%), but extrapulmonary cases outnumbered pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Thirty-three percent of the patients had been vaccinated with BCG. The Mantoux test was found positive in 62 percent of patients. The tuberculous culture was found to be positive in the sputum of 28 percent of pulmonary tuberculosis cases. Patients were treated with daily (59%) or intermittent (41%) antituberculous therapy regimens. The response to treatment was excellent. Relapse was observed in five cases. Mortality from tuberculosis was eight percent, 23 percent of which were from tuberculous meningitis. Although there was a decrease in the number of children with tuberculosis seen at our hospital between 1972 and 1992, the prevention and control of tuberculosis are still significant health problems for our country.