A STUDY OF EVALUATION OF CARTRIDGE BASED NUCLEIC ACID AMPLIFICATION TEST (CBNAAT) IN PAEDIATRIC PATIENTS SUSPECTED OF TUBERCULOSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN CENTRAL INDIA

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Pediatric patients are underdiagnosed and underreported, have a signicantly high mortality risk. CBNAAT is a good diagnostic method to detect mycobacterium tubercule bacilli (MTB). Material and methods: A Prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. 171 pediatric patients with clinical features suggestive of presumptive pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis based on RNTCP guidelines were included in the study. Relevant demographic, clinical and laboratory details were recorded. Patients were labelled as bacteriologically conrmed tuberculosis (if found positive on microscopy, culture and CBNAAT) while labelled as clinically diagnosed, in absence of bacteriological conrmation but imaging ndings, other diagnostic tests and /or clinical ndings were suggestive of pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis. CBNAAT detected TB bacilli in Results: 57.9% patients hospitalized with clinical suspicion of TB. CBNAAT was also positive in all Z N smear positive patients (n-8) [p <0.05] while 55.8% of smear negative cases were detected by CBNAAT. The detection rate of Rifampicin resistant TB was 2.9% in the study population (p<0.05). CBNAAT not only identies TB bacilli and Rifampicin resistance but also Conclusions: useful in early treatment initiation. It is a good diagnostic tool for diagnosis of TB in children who mostly remain underreported and improperly treated.