Distribution and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from children, enrolled in a tertiary care hospital.

The present study was planned to assess the distribution of tuberculosis in children and evaluate the antimycobacterial sensitivity pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates from pediatric patients. A total number of 1718 pediatric patients suspected of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were enrolled in the Institute of Child Health and Children's Hospital, Lahore during 2016-17. Out of 1718, only 710 different types of samples were tested for MTB. The samples were processed using bacteriology and GeneXpert along with the chest X-ray and clinical picture of the patients. The sensitivity pattern of Streptomycin, Isoniazid, Rifampicin and Ethambutol (SIRE) was determined using BACTEC MGIT 960. Total patients were divided into four groups including group A (birth to 12 months), B (1 to 5 years), C (6 to 10 years), and D (11 to 15 years). Out of 710, 106 (55 females and 51 males) were declared positive and 604 negative for tuberculosis. Out of 106 positive cases, 89 (83.96%) were sensitive to Rifampicin and 17 (16.04%) were resistant. Only, 04 (3.77%) were resistant to both Rifampicin and Isoniazid and declared as multidrug-resistant (MDR). It was concluded that children of age 11 to 15 years were more prone to MTB and a minimum percentage of MDR isolates was recorded in age group A (birth to 12 months).