Pediatric tuberculosis: Symptoms, prevention and treatment

Tuberculosis (TB) is a prevalent disease in many parts of the world, particularly, in Africa and many South Asian countries. Considering the life-threatening nature of this disease, over the years, many antituberculosis drugs have been developed to prevent, manage, or treat TB. The World Health Organization (WHO) is heavily involved in TB control programs with the objectives to provide guidance for early diagnosis of TB, timely treatment with appropriate antituberculosis medicines with optimum therapeutic dosing. Considering the importance of a 'right dose' in the treatment of a disease, Over the years, WHO has revised the pediatric dosing for TB several times and in 2014 pediatric dosing was adjusted based on the pharmacokinetic (PK) studies as well as safety. However, these dosing recommendations by WHO for the treatment of TB requires more robust PK studies. The objectives of this review are to provide the readers the difference in the etiology of TB disease between adults and children, the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of TB in children especially, in younger children (<2 years of age).