The significance of preventive treatment for tuberculosis infection in children

Objective: to evaluate the value of tuberculosis preventive treatment (PTT) in children with tuberculosis infection. Material and methods. As part of a continuous study, a cohort of 200 children from 1 to 17 years old taken for clinical observation in group VI A (positive test result with the recombinant tuberculosis allergen [ATR]) was analyzed. All children underwent additional examination methods to exclude the local form of tuberculosis: physical examination, laboratory clinical and biochemical tests of blood and urine, multislice computed tomography of the chest organs and, according to clinical recommendations, PTT was proposed, which the parents of 65 children refused. Study groups: 1 — those with no family contact with a patient with tuberculosis (ТВ) (n=70): 2 — those with contact with a patient with ТВ (n=65), in group 3 included children whose parents refused PTT, despite the presence of indications (n=65), incl. 14 children were from Tl lesions. Children group 1 and 2 received PTT. Control over the PTT was carried out on the "Yandex.Teleconference". Results. As a result of comparison of the three groups, reliable data were obtained on the effectiveness of PTT according to the criteria of preventing the disease and reducing the results of the ATR test. A significantly high percentage of sick children in group 3 was established, compared with children from group 1 (p=0.008; x2=18.6). When assessing the dynamics of the results of immunodiagnostic tests in children of the group 1 who received PTT, a decrease in the test with ATR was significantly more often observed compared to children without PTT(p=0.001; x2=17.2). It is worth noting that children had satisfactory tolerability of the drugs; no adverse events were observed in patients with daily video recording. Conclusion. A conclusion was made about the need for preventive work with parents of children who refused preventive treatment to increase their level of adherence, the need to evaluate the effectiveness of PTT courses using primary and additional criteria, including the importance of controlled PTT.