[Pulmonary tuberculosis and primary infection in children. Retrospective study of 53 children].

A 4-year retrospective study of 53 children aged from 4 1/2 months to 16 years showed the persistent frequency of tuberculosis in a general paediatrics department: one out of 250 children of the same age admitted during the same period presented with tuberculosis. Acute febrile pulmonary manifestations (13%) were much less frequent than primary infections (87%) which were symptomatic in only one out of 2 cases. But, whether the primary infection was patent or latent, mediastinal lymphadenopathy was present in one out of 5 cases. In children, a 15 mm or more intradermal reaction to 10 units of tuberculin is strongly suggestive of tuberculosis, especially when previous intradermal tests were negative. Radiography of the chest and gastric fluid aspiration indicated the degree of infection. In spite of its low yield (10% positive microscopic examinations and 20% positive cultures), gastric aspiration had the merit of confirming the diagnosis of tuberculosis in 4 out of 35 children with apparently normal X-ray films. A firm therapeutic approach could be derived from these three examinations.