Outcomes of childhood TB in countries with a universal BCG vaccination policy

Abstract

<sec id="st1"><title>BACKGROUND</title>TB remains an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Underdiagnosis, underreporting and limited data on the outcomes of childhood TB have led to an underestimation of its impact.</sec><sec id="st2"><title>METHODS</title>This was a systematic review to characterise childhood TB outcomes. Studies reporting relevant epidemiological data on children between 0 and 14 years of age, with a particular focus on treatment outcomes, from countries with universal bacilli Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and conducted between 2000 and 2020 were selected. Random effects meta-analysis was performed in R software.</sec><sec id="st3"><title>RESULTS</title>We identified 1,806 references and included 35 articles. Among children with TB, the overall proportion of unfavourable outcomes was 19.5% (95% CI 14.4–25.8) and pooled case-fatality ratio was 6.1% (95% CI 4.3–8.4). The proportion of deaths observed among children between 0 and 4 years old was 6.6% (95% CI 4.9–8.7) and 4.6% (95% CI 3.1–6.9) in older children. TB and HIV co-infected children presented a case-fatality ratio of 15.1% (95% CI 7.9–27.0).</sec><sec id="st4"><title>CONCLUSIONS</title>Despite the efforts made in the last decades, treatment outcomes in childhood TB are still worrisome. Efforts to fill existing gaps and design health policies targeting vulnerable populations, such as children, should be intensified to tackle the global TB burden.</sec>