Background: Childhood tuberculosis (TB) was poorly studied in Ethiopia. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of childhood TB and identify predictors of death among children on TB treatment.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of children aged 16 and younger who were treated for TB between 2014 and 2022. Data were extracted from TB registers of 32 healthcare facilities in central Ethiopia. Phone interview was also conducted to measure variables without a space and not recorded in the registers. Frequency tables and a graph were used to describe the epidemiology of childhood TB. To perform survival analysis, we used a Cox proportional hazards model, which was then challenged with an extended Cox model.
Results: We enrolled 640 children with TB, 80 (12.5%) of whom were under the age of two. Five hundred and fifty-seven (87.0%) of the enrolled children had not had known household TB contact. Thirty-six (5.6%) children died while being treated for TB. Nine (25%) of those who died were under the age of two. HIV infection (aHR = 4.2; 95% CI = 1.9-9.3), under nutrition (aHR = 4.2; 95% CI = 2.2-10.48), being under 10 years old (aHR = 4.1; 95% CI = 1.7-9.7), and relapsed TB (aHR = 3.7; 95% CI = 1.1-13.1) were all independent predictors of death. Children who were found to be still undernourished two months after starting TB treatment also had a higher risk of death (aHR = 5.64, 95% CI = 2.42-13.14) than normally nourished children.
Conclusions: The majority of children had no known pulmonary TB household contact implying that they contracted TB from the community. The death rate among children on TB treatment was unacceptably high, with children under the age of two being disproportionately impacted. HIV infection, baseline as well as persistent under nutrition, age < 10 years, and relapsed TB all increased the risk of death in children undergoing TB treatment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16183-9 | DOI Listing |
Curr Allergy Asthma Rep
January 2025
Division of Immunology, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Purpose Of Review: This manuscript reviews the impact of important indoor environmental exposures on pediatric asthma, with a focus on recent literature in the field.
Recent Findings: Studies continue to support an association between numerous indoor aeroallergens and air pollutants found in homes and schools and increased asthma morbidity overall. Several recent home and school intervention studies have shown promise, though results have been overall mixed.
Epilepsia
January 2025
IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Full Member of the European Reference Network EpiCARE, Bologna, Italy.
Objective: This study aimed to identify prescribing behaviors in women of childbearing potential (WOCP) with epilepsy already taking valproate (VPA), and to investigate the relationship between VPA maintenance, substitution, reduction, or withdrawal as part of polytherapy, and seizure worsening or relapse.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the prescription behaviors and seizure outcomes in WOCP (16-50 years of age) with epilepsy, referred to eight Italian epilepsy centers, who were taking VPA for at least 1 year between 2014 and 2019.
Results: Among 750 women (~12% of all WOCP), 528 (70.
Pain
January 2025
Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
This study investigates the associations between early childhood adversities, stress perception, and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Although the interconnection between dysregulated stress systems and FMS is well documented, the interconnection between early adversities and FMS remains less understood. This study explores the relationship of early-life stress and FMS by examining its mediation through perceived stress, and acute and chronic endocrine stress indicators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Transplant
February 2025
Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Background: Liver transplantation is the standard therapy for end-stage liver disease in pediatric patients with biliary atresia (BA), congenital and metabolic conditions, and for an unresectable malignant tumor like hepatoblastoma (HB). BA is the leading indication for pediatric liver transplantation, while HB is the most common childhood liver cancer. Despite improved outcomes through advanced surgical techniques and novel immunosuppression, pediatric liver transplantation (pLT) is complicated by post-transplant infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Childhood obesity and the rate of its spread is a serious threat to the reproductive health of the nation, especially among boys, being a background for delaying sexual development and further disrupting fertility.
Aim: To study the peculiarities of the ratio of the level of leptin and a number of toxic and essential chemical trace elements in biological environments in adolescent boys aged 13-14 years with obesity and delayed sexual development.
Materials And Methods: Three groups of adolescents aged 13-14 years were studied and formed: the main ones - with constitutional exogenous obesity of 1-2 degrees (1-20 boys without secondary signs of puberty; 2 - 24 boys with 2-4 stages of puberty according to Tanner) and comparisons (3 - 15 boys with normal body weight and without deviations in puberty).
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