Effectiveness of Preventive Anti-tuberculosis Treatment of Children in a Specialized Sanatorium and Outpatient Settings. Experience from Irkutsk Oblast

The objective: to study the effectiveness of sanatorium treatment of children with latent tuberculosis infection and metatuberculous changes exposed to tuberculosis infection, to improve selection of children to undergo preventive anti-tuberculosis treatment in a sanatorium. Subjects and Methods. In 2018-2023, 2007 children aged 1-15 years were treated in TB Sanatorium. Two groups of children were compared to assess the effectiveness of preventive treatment of tuberculosis: 156 children who received treatment in the sanatorium, and 54 children who received outpatient treatment with no observation. The treatment lasted 3 or 6 months, and the following regimens were used: isoniazid+rifampicin/etambutol/pyrazinamide, and pyrazinamide+etambutol/prothionamide in case of exposure to MDR-TB. Results. Children were selected for preventive anti-tuberculosis treatment in a sanatorium based on epidemic and social risk factors, degree of intensity of the response to TRA. As a result of the sanatorium treatment, the number of children with positive and hyperergic reactions to the TRA test decreased, while during outpatient treatment, the number of children with positive results increased. After one year, 41.1% of children who received preventive anti-tuberculosis treatment in the sanatorium were taken off the follow-up register, and no child became ill with tuberculosis. Among children who received preventive anti-tuberculosis treatment in outpatient settings, only 16.7% were taken off the follow-up register; 1 (1.9%) child became ill with tuberculosis.