Prevalence of culture positive Tuberculosis and utility of a clinical diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of Tuberculosis among HIV Infected Children attending HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Dodoma Municipality, Central Tanzania.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the performance of the modified Keith Edwards TB clinical diagnostic tool among HIV infected children. Methods Cross sectional study of 252 HIV infected children Results Out of 252 children evaluated, 13.5% (34/252) had TB using the clinical diagnostic tool and 5.2% (13/252) had culture positive TB. The sensitivity of the clinical tool was 76.9%, specificity of 90%. Culture positive TB predictors were lymphadenopathy (AOR 13.74, 95%CI (3.86 – 48.86) p value Conclusion The utility of the modified Keith Edwards clinical diagnostic tool for Tuberculosis diagnosis among HIV infected children is limited, calling for further validation. HIV infected children with lymphadenopathy, failure to thrive and difficulty in breathing are at high risk of Tuberculosis.