Adolescence is characterised by a dramatic increase in the incidence of tuberculosis, a fact that has been appreciated since the early 20 th century. The majority of the world's adolescents live in low and middle-income countries where tuberculosis remains common, and where they comprise one quarter of the population. Despite this, adolescents have not yet been addressed as a distinct population in tuberculosis policy or within tuberculosis treatment services, and emerging evidence suggests that current models of care do not meet their needs.This article reviews current knowledge about tuberculosis in adolescence with a focus on the management of infection and disease, including HIV co-infection and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis. Recent progress in vaccine development is outlined and important directions for future research are highlighted.
Search strategy and selection criteriaThis was a narrative review of the literature on adolescent tuberculosis, informed by expert opinion and clinical experience. We reviewed the English-and Spanish-language literature for studies on adolescent tuberculosis to identify case series documenting clinical presentation and treatment outcomes. We searched PubMed with the following string on 19August 2019: ('tuberculosis'[Title]) AND ('adolescent'[TIAB]). The search returned 210 results, of which 11 were eligible for inclusion (Table 1), and we identified three additional studies from reference lists, for a total of 14 studies. Studies reporting solely on prevalence or where data from adolescents was aggregated with those of younger children or adults were excluded. Data were extracted regarding major site(s) of disease, percent of adolescents with microbiologic confirmation, adverse drug reactions, and final treatment outcomes.