1. Reduced lung function and health-related quality of life after treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in Gambian children: a cross-sectional comparative study.
- Author
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Nkereuwem E, Agbla S, Sallahdeen A, Owolabi O, Sillah AK, Genekah M, Tunkara A, Kandeh S, Jawara M, Saidy L, Bush A, Togun T, and Kampmann B
- Subjects
- Humans, Child, Adolescent, Cross-Sectional Studies, Gambia, Vital Capacity, Forced Expiratory Volume, Spirometry, Lung, Quality of Life, Tuberculosis, Pulmonary complications
- Abstract
Background: Post-tuberculosis (post-TB) lung disease is an under-recognised consequence of pulmonary tuberculosis (pTB). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of residual lung function impairment and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children after pTB treatment completion., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional comparative study of children aged less than 15 years at TB diagnosis who had completed treatment for pTB at least 6 months previously with a comparator group of age-matched children without a history of pTB. Symptoms, spirometry and HRQoL measured with PedsQL scale were collected. Variables associated with lung function impairment were identified through logistic regression models., Results: We enrolled 68 post-TB cases (median age 8.9 (IQR 7.2-11.2) years) and 91 children in the comparison group (11.5 (8.0-13.7) years). Spirometry from 52 (76.5%) post-TB cases and 89 (94.5%) of the comparison group met the quality criteria for acceptability and repeatability. Lung function impairment was present in 20/52 (38.5%) post-TB cases and 15/86 (17.4%) in the comparison group, p=0.009. Previous pTB and a history of chronic cough were significantly associated with the presence of lung function impairment (p=0.047 and 0.006 respectively). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV
1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1 /FVC z -scores were significantly lower in the post-TB cases compared with the comparison group (p= <0.001, 0.014 and <0.001, respectively). The distribution of the self-reported physical health score, and parent-reported physical, emotional, psychological, social and total HRQoL scores were significantly lower in the post-TB cases compared with the comparison group., Conclusions: Previous TB in children is associated with significantly impaired lung function and HRQoL., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)- Published
- 2023
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