title: [Tuberculosis in subjects under 15 years of age in the population of Warao in Venezuela].
abstract: It is difficult to establish a definitive diagnosis of tuberculosis in rural areas where there is no access to a large hospital. The Warao people of the Delta Amacuro State in Venezuela, have a very high prevalence of adult TB, and we suspected that the Warao children would also have a high prevalence of the disease, almost entirely undiagnosed. We applied a simple methodology to select children suspicious for tuberculosis that is based on a rating system using clinical criteria, reactivity to tuberculin and intradomicilliary contacts. Of the 502 children under the age of 15 that were evaluated with this rating system, 27 were determined to be suspicious of TB and were further evaluated by a chest X-ray. Radiologic confirmation of TB was found in 16 (60%) of the 27 suspicious children. Of these 16 patients, 13 (81%) were PPD positive and 3 were PPD negative. Additionally, 7 of the 16 children with pathologic x-ray changes had one or more confirmatory findings: 3 were positive by culture or smear examination and 5 had a positive serologic B diagnostic test. In conclusion this methodology proved to be highly efficient in diagnosing childhood tuberculosis in this population, and should also be useful in other rural populations with a high prevalence of adult TB.
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina José María Vargas, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández de Larrea
authors.forename: Cecil
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fandiño
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Berenice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: del Nogal
authors.forename: Nilia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Jacinto
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Convit
authors.forename: Zaida
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.forename: Jacobus H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: de Waard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology
vernacular_title: Tuberculosis en menores de 15 años en la población Warao de Venezuela.