It is estimated that nearly 10 million people developed tuberculosis (TB) worldwide in the year 2017, of which nearly 1 million were children [1]. In general, the emphasis is largely focused on the adult disease, whereas the TB in children is relatively neglected mainly due to greater challenges in diagnosis and the comparatively less priority attributed to children by the various TB control programs. As a result of these factors, research and data associated with cases of childhood TB are limited. Childhood TB presents itself as a major challenge due to the method it has been explored till date. Childhood TB is considered as a marker of recent transmission in the community and a pool for future adult cases also [2]. The plan of action to reduce the incidence rate of morbidity and mortality occurring due to childhood TB is to design effective methods of diagnosis at the early stages of the infection, tracing of contacts in addition to designing of an effective treatment regimen.The non-specific nature of the sign and symptoms, the paucibacillary nature of the disease, and the low specificity of available diagnostic tests contribute vastly to make the cases of childhood TB a daunting task for the clinicians [3]. Differences in the pathophysiology and clinical representation of TB in children make the process of diagnosis more challenging in comparison to adults in addition to non-definitive modes of latent infection and disease are less understood. Following infection, several factors appear to influence the balance of risk between latent TB and progression to active disease. The several factors included are age, nutritional status, vaccination, and immune status [2,3]. Children are at much higher risk of progression into active diseases in comparison to adults. The risk is higher in the cases of infants and children below 2 years to age.The objective of the present study was to analyze the various symptoms and signs of clinically suspected TB among children as per updated guidelines for pediatric TB 2012 [4] and correlate with the laboratory findings to identify the most useful diagnostic parameters to confirm the clinical diagnosis of TB. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis was a retrospective study carried out in a rural tertiary health care hospital for a period of 1 year from January 2017 to
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