Military Tuberculosis in Children: Mind the Gap

Article Infectious Diseases

Diagnosis of paediatric TB using Xpert® MTB/RIF Ultra on fresh respiratory samples

I Sabi et al.

Summary: The study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert(R) MTB/RIF Ultra in fresh respiratory samples for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in children. While Ultra showed improved performance compared to Xpert, its sensitivity remains sub-optimal for TB detection in children, with an additional 20 cases detected in the group with negative culture results, suggesting that culture may not be a perfect reference standard.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TUBERCULOSIS AND LUNG DISEASE (2022)

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Article Respiratory System

Accuracy of Xpert Ultra for the diagnosis of paediatric tuberculosis in a low TB burden country: a prospective multicentre study

David Aguilera-Alonso et al.

Summary: In a low burden setting, Xpert Ultra has significantly higher sensitivity than the previous generation of Xpert assay and only slightly lower specificity. Therefore, Xpert Ultra should be preferred over Xpert MTB/RIF in children undergoing evaluation for suspected pulmonary TB.

THORAX (2022)

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Review Immunology

Variable Diagnostic Performance of Stool Xpert in Pediatric Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Meseret Gebre et al.

Summary: This study found that Xpert testing on stool samples in children showed moderate sensitivity and high specificity, suggesting it may be a valuable additional tool for diagnosing pulmonary TB in settings where respiratory samples are difficult to obtain. Further research is needed to optimize its use as a diagnostic tool.

OPEN FORUM INFECTIOUS DISEASES (2021)

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Review Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Among Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Wan-mei Song et al.

Summary: Drug-resistant tuberculosis, especially multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, poses a significant public health threat globally. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, it was found that the proportion of DR-TB and MDR-TB is high among pediatric TB patients, with lower rates observed in high-income countries compared to lower-income and middle-income countries. This highlights the need for targeted interventions for child TB cases in low-income countries to address the burden of drug-resistant TB.

FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH (2021)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal