Induced sputum versus gastric lavage for microbiological confirmation of pulmonary tuberculosis in infants and young children: a prospective study.

Background: For microbiological confirmation of diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in young children, sequential gastric lavages are recommended; sputum induction has not been regarded as feasible or useful. We aimed to compare the yield of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from repeated induced sputum with that from gastric lavage in young children from an area with a high rate of HIV and tuberculosis.

Methods: We studied 250 children aged 1 month to 5 years who were admitted for suspected pulmonary tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa.