Objective To describe the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) among children in Guizhou province from 2009 to 2018 and to provide references for TB prevention and control in the children.
Methods The data on 5 775 TB cases aged ≤ 14 years registered and treated in Guizhou province during 2009 – 2018 were extracted from National Tuberculosis Control Information System and analyzed with descriptive statistics.
Results During the 10-year period in the province, the average annual registration rate of TB was 7.39/100 000 and the rate was significantly different from that (116.34/100 000) of general population (χ2 = 460.852, P < 0.05); the total number of child TB cases accounted for 1.46% of the all TB cases registered and the annual number of the child TB cases declined generally during the period but slowly increased from 2015 to 2018. There were registered child TB cases in all seasons of a year but more cases were registered in the first and the second quarter of a year. More total cases were registered in Bijie prefecture, accounting for 37.44% of all the registered child TB cases in the province. The male to female ratio was 1.10 : 1 (51.39% vs. 48.61%) for all the registered child TB cases. The majority of the registered cases (2 258 boy cases and 2 281 girl cases) were aged 10 – 14 years. Visiting a doctor actively due to self-perceived symptoms and referral were main ways for the TB cases being registered. For all the registered cases, the ratio of initial treatment versus retreatment was 75 : 1. The successful treatment rate was 91.02% for the initially diagnosed smear positive cases and 82.69% for retreatment smear positive cases, respectively.
Conclusion During 2009 – 2018, the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis declined among children in Guizhou province but some targeted preventive measures still need to be promoted among the children aged 10 – 14 years, in the boys and in some regions of the province.
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