Mortality and Cause of Death in Children With Presumptive Disseminated Tuberculosis

Background and objectives Children experience high tuberculosis (TB)-related mortality but causes of death among those with presumptive TB are poorly documented. We describe the mortality, likely causes of death, and associated risk factors among vulnerable children admitted with presumptive TB in rural Uganda. Methods We conducted a prospective study of vulnerable children, defined as Results Of the 219 children included, 157 (71.7%) were Conclusions Vulnerable children hospitalized with presumptive TB experienced high mortality. A better understanding of the likely causes of death in this group is important to guide empirical management.