The Rate of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Korean Children and Adolescents Since 2007

Abstract

The incidence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in pediatric populations is a critical indicator of national TB management and treatment strategies. Limited data exist regarding the rate of pediatric DR-TB. In this study, we aimed to analyze the status of DR-TB in Korean children from 2007 to 2013. We analyzed specimens submitted to the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis using Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture and drug susceptibility tests (DSTs) from January 2007 through December 2013. Specimens from patients ≤ 19 years of age were included. Among the 2,690 cases, 297 cases were excluded because of insufficient data, leaving 2,393 cases for the final analysis. In total, resistance to one or more TB drugs was 13.5%. The resistance rates of each of the drugs were as follows: isoniazid (INH) 10.2%, rifampin (RFP) 5.1%, ethambutol (EMB) 3.7%, and pyrazinamide (PZA) 3.1%. The resistance rate of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) was 4.2%, and that of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) was 0.8%. The overall drug resistance rate demonstrated significant increase throughout the study period (P < 0.001) but showed no significant difference compared to previous study from 1999 to 2007. The drug resistance rate of PZA in ≤ 15 years of age group was significantly greater than that of > 15 years (P < 0.001). The drug resistance rate has increased throughout the study period.

The epidemiological characteristics and profile of drug-resistant tuberculosis among children with tuberculosis in Sichuan, China, 2015–2018

“…The overall rates of DR-TB among culture confirmed child TB observed in our study was 24.3%, and the rate was similar to the previous studies in Chinese Wuhan (28.4%) [ 7 ] and Chongqing (20.9%), [ 8 ] New Delhi (20.5%) [ 29 ] and Mexico (26.7%), [ 30 ] but higher than that observed in Korean (13.5%) [ 31 ] ; The overall rate of MDR-TB here was 5.4%, which was slightly lower than those from Wuhan (7.4%) [ 7 ] and Chongqing (6.5%), [ 8 ] but higher than that in the US (1.6%) [ 32 ] and from a systematic review with global estimates of 97 studies on child TB cases at 4%. [ 5 ] 45 out of 77 DR-TB (58.4%) and 13 out of 17 MDR-TB cases (76.4%) were Tibetan child TB cases, which could probably because of more contacts with TB patients for these children, who were reported to bear higher probability to have MDR-TB.…”

The epidemiological characteristics and profile of drug-resistant tuberculosis among children with tuberculosis in Sichuan, China, 2015-2018: A retrospective study

“…The overall rates of DR-TB among culture con rmed child TB observed in our study was 24.3%, and the rate was similar to the previous studies in Chinese Wuhan (28.4%) [7] and Chongqing (20.9%) [8], New Delhi (20.5%) [29] and Mexico (26.7%) [30], but higher than that observed in Korean (13.5%) [31]; The overall rate of MDR-TB here was 5.4%, which was slightly lower than those from Wuhan (7.4%) [7] and Chongqing (6.5%) [8], but higher than that in the U.S. (1.6%) [32] and from a systematic review with global estimates of 97 studies on child TB cases at 4% [5]. 45 out of 77 DR-TB (58.4%) and 13 out of 17 MDR-TB cases (76.4%)…”

Submillisievert Computed Tomography of the Chest in Contact Investigation for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

“…Currently, one-quarter of estimated multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients are detected, and only a half of them are successfully treated whereas 63% of drug-sensitive TB are detected and 85% of them are successfully treated ( 1 ). In Korea, approximately 1,000 patients with newly diagnosed MDR-TB have been reported annually ( 2 ).…”