Assessment of Cavitary Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Children

Abstract

Background: Cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is rare in children. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of cavitary pulmonary TB in children. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 97 children less than 15 years old with pulmonary TB to assess the clinical characteristics and radiographic findings of patients with cavitary lesions. Results: Seven (7%) out of 97 children had cavitary pulmonary TB. All patients were between 13 and 14 years old with a female/male ratio of 2.5/1. The most common symptom was cough. All patients had positive sputum smear results. Cavitary lesions were seen in the right upper lobe in six cases and multiple cavities were observed in two cases. Conclusions: This finding strongly suggests that older children with pulmonary TB can be more at risk than younger ages. Special attention must be paid to the prevention and treatment of TB in older children, particularly females.