All issues > Volume 52(1); 2009

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2009;52(1):61-67. Published online January 15, 2009.

Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in children

Soo Jin SJ Lee¹, Young Min YM Ahn¹, Hee Jin HJ Kim²

¹Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea
²Department of Epidemiology, The Korean Institute of Tuberculosis, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Young Min YM Ahn ,Email: aym3216@eulji.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: The rate of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in children is an indicator of the effectiveness of TB control programs in the community. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of DR-TB in children and evaluate TB management.
Methods
: Between January 1999 and July 2007, drug susceptibility tests for anti-TB drugs were employed for patients aged less than 19 years with culture-positive TB.
Results
: A total of 607 cases (16.6%) were resistant to at least one anti-TB drug as follows: isoniazid (INH; 13.8%), rifampin (8.9%), pyrazinamide (4.2%), streptomycin (3.7%), ethambutol (EMB; 5.9%), and para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS; 1.9%). Multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB was found in 276 cases (7.6%); extensive drug resistant (XDR) TB, in 5 cases (0.2%). The rate of resistance to at least one anti-TB drug in children aged >15 years (16.1%) was significantly lower than that in children aged <15 years (20.5%) (P=0.016). The rate of resistance to at least one anti-TB drug and multidrug-resistance in this survey decreased significantly (P<0.001) as compared to the previous survey (1987-1995). The rate of resistance to INH, EMB, and PAS also significantly decreased (P<0.05).
Conclusion
: The rate of DR-TB in children in Korea has decreased over time; however, it remains higher than that in other countries. MDR-TB and XDR-TB are the emerging problems in Korean children. Therefore, the selection of effective drugs through drug susceptibility tests and evaluating risk factors of resistant TB is essential to successful therapy and a decreased incidence of DR-TB.

Keywords :Tuberculosis, Drug-resistant, Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, Children