Tuberculosis among adolescents in two Brazilian State capitals

The study analyzed clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) among adolescents from two Brazilian State capitals, according to the 2010 Updated Guidelines of the National TB Control Program (NTPC) through a descriptive, retrospective cross-sectional study of reported TB cases from Manaus and Salvador from 1996 to 2003. Patients were divided into two groups: 10 to 14 years and 15 to 19 years of age. Variables were studied through descriptive statistics; 1,781 adolescents were included; 928 (52.1%) were males. Median age was 16 years (SD = 2.3). Pulmonary TB (PTB) occurred in 1,447 patients (82.9%), pleural TB in 179 (10.3%), and peripheral adenopathy in 81 (4.6%). Cough was more frequent in the ≥ 15-year PTB group (p < 0.001). Chest x-rays were classified as: adult-type TB in 1,088 (98.6%) in the ≥-15 year group; 258 (98.1%) in the < 15-year group (p < 0.0001). Adult type bacteriological PTB increased in proportion to age.