title: Short course chemotherapy for tuberculosis in children.
abstract: In order to determine the efficacy of short course chemotherapy (SCC) for tuberculosis in children, 83 newly diagnosed cases in children < 12 years old were given SCC and were prospectively followed for 1-3 years. Seventy-one cases were treated for 6-9 months as they had mild to moderate involvement. Twelve cases were treated for 12 months as they had meningitis (7), disseminated tuberculosis (2), or miliary tuberculosis (3). The results showed that none of the children, at the end of follow up, showed evidence of active tuberculosis. All children tolerated the drugs well, with side effects noticed being mild, namely transient hepatitis (4), vomiting (1), and skin rash (1). It is suggested that SCC for 6-9 months using isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin along with other drugs when necessary is highly effective in most cases of tuberculosis in children and has several advantages over conventional chemotherapy of 18 months or longer duration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Padmini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nalini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahadevan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007538:Isoniazid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011718:Pyrazinamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012293:Rifampin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D011718:Pyrazinamide; D007538:Isoniazid; D012293:Rifampin; D013307:Streptomycin