Why being an expert – despite xpert –remains crucial for children in high TB burden settings

BMC Infectious Diseases

Table 3 Characteristics and treatment outcomes of children diagnosed with TB (N = 157)

Characteristic	Number	%
Treatment Initiation
ATT initiated	155	998.7%
Median time from referral to initiation of ATT (days, IQR)	3 days	1.00–6.25 days
Diagnostic Certainty
Confirmed TB	21	13.4%
Confirmed pulmonary TB	20	95.2%
Confirmed EPTB	1	4.8%
Confirmed LNTB	0	0.0%
Probable TB	99	63.1%
Possible TB	37	23.6%
Type of TB
Pulmonary TB	126	80.3%
EPTB (excluding lymph node TB)	19	12.1%
Lymph node TB	12	7.6%
Treatment Outcomes
Cured^a	19	12.1%
Treatment Completed^b	90	57.3%
Transferred Out/Not Evaluated	11	7.0%
Died	12	7.6%
Lost-to-follow up	25	15.9%

Abbreviations: ATT, anti-tuberculosis therapy; EPTB, extrapulmonary TB; LNTB, lymph node TB
^aCured = bacteriologically confirmed TB at the beginning of treatment who was smear- or culture-negative in the last month of treatment and on at least one previous occasion. ^bTreatment Completed = clinically diagnosed or bacteriologically confirmed TB patient who completed treatment without evidence of failure, but with no record of sputum smear or culture results in the last month of treatment were negative, either because tests were not done or because no results available [18]

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