Clinical and epidemiological features of tuberculosis in children and adolescents

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the clinical and epidemiological features of tuberculosis in children and adolescents in an infectious diseases reference hospital. Method: A documental and retrospective study was carried out with 88 medical files in an infectious diseases reference hospital in the state of Ceará. Data were analyzed by univariate, bivariate and multivariate approaches. Results: It was found that, depending on the tuberculosis type, its manifestations may vary. The logistic regression model considered only pulmonary tuberculosis due to a number of observations and included female sex (95% CI: 1.4-16.3), weight loss (95% CI: 1.8-26.3), bacilloscopic screening (95% CI: 1.5-16.6) and sputum collected (95% CI: 1.4-19.4) as possible predictors. Conclusions: Children and adolescents present different manifestations of the disease depending on the tuberculosis type that affects them. Knowing the most common features of each condition could enhance early diagnosis and, consequently, result in adequate treatment and care.

## 摘要
### 研究目的
分析塞阿拉州某区域传染病参考医院收治的儿童及青少年结核病患者的临床与流行病学特征。
### 研究方法
本研究采用基于病历资料的回顾性研究设计，纳入该医院的88份患者病历档案，通过单变量、双变量及多变量分析方法对数据进行处理。
### 研究结果
研究发现，结核病的临床表现可因分型不同而存在差异。鉴于观测样本量限制，本研究的logistic回归（logistic regression）模型仅纳入肺结核病例，最终将女性性别（95%置信区间：1.4~16.3）、体重减轻（95%置信区间：1.8~26.3）、杆菌镜检筛查（95%置信区间：1.5~16.6）及痰液标本采集（95%置信区间：1.4~19.4）列为潜在预测因子。
### 研究结论
儿童及青少年的结核病临床表现因受累的结核分型不同而存在差异。明确各亚型的常见临床特征，有助于提升早期诊断效率，进而为患者提供规范的治疗与照护。