FeedbackYoung children with TB usually have paucibacillary TB disease (TB disease forms with a lower burden of M. tuberculosis than is typical in adult-type cavitary TB disease) and are at lower risk for transmitting TB to other children or adults (6). School-aged children and adolescents, however, may have bacteriologically confirmed TB, sometimes with cavities on CXR (6).
All children diagnosed with TB disease (irrespective of bacteriological confirmation) should complete treatment with a full course of the appropriate TB regimen. Trials of TB treatment (using response to TB treatment as a diagnostic tool) are discouraged (72). Once initiated, the TB treatment regimen should be continued until completion, unless an alternative diagnosis has been established. High rates of cure and treatment completion can be achieved in children with TB (85).
