Magnitude of Tuberculosis in Children Aged Under 18 Years at Amana Regional Hospital in Dar es Salaam from 2022 and 2024

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge among children, particularly in resource-limited settings like Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite global efforts to reduce its burden, childhood TB is often under-diagnosed and under treated, especially in regions with high HIV prevalence. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of TB among children under 18 years at Amana Regional Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 2022 to 2024. Design and Setting: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, analyzing medical records of children diagnosed with TB at Amana Regional Hospital between 2022 and 2024. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, symptoms, diagnostic methods, HIV status, and treatment initiation were extracted from TB clinic registries and analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS version 26.0. Participants: A total of 382 children were included in the study. Of these, 57.6% were male and 42.4% female. The majority were aged 2–5 years (31.1%) and resided in urban areas (57.6%). Inclusion criteria were children under 18 years with confirmed TB diagnosis through microscopy or Gene-Xpert, while exclusion criteria included children without documented confirmation or incomplete records. Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Primary outcome measure: prevalence of confirmed TB among children under 18 years during the study period. Secondary outcome measures: socio-demographic distribution of TB cases, presenting symptoms, diagnostic methods used, HIV co-infection rates, and proportion of children initiating TB and ARV treatment. Results: Of the 382 children studied, 68.3% (n=261) were diagnosed with TB, with a higher prevalence among males (57.6%) and the 2-5-year age group (31.1%). Urban residence was predominant (57.6%), and common symptoms included persistent cough (65.7%) and fever (52.1%). Microscopy (52.6%) and Gene-Xpert (39.0%) were the primary diagnostic tools [5]. HIV co-infection was observed in 20.7% of cases, with 65.5% of TB-positive children initiating treatment [26]. Conclusion: The high burden of TB among children at Amana Regional Hospital underscores the need for improved diagnostic capacity, early intervention, and integrated TB-HIV services to reduce morbidity and mortality in this vulnerable population.