Time Elapsed from Onset of Symptoms to Antituberculosis Treatment in Children with Central Nervous System Tuberculosis in a Tertiary Hospital in South India: A Mixed‑Methods Pilot Study

Giridharan, Prathiksha and Rebecca, Priscilla and Devaleenal, Bella and Chelladurai, Elilarasi and Chinnaiyan, Ponnuraja and Malaisamy, Muniyandi (2023) Time Elapsed from Onset of Symptoms to Antituberculosis Treatment in Children with Central Nervous System Tuberculosis in a Tertiary Hospital in South India: A Mixed‑Methods Pilot Study. International Journal of Public Health (IJPH), 67 (2). pp. 301-304. ISSN Print: 1661-8556 Electronic: 1661-8564

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Abstract

A pilot study with a mixed‑methods design was conducted to estimate the time for tuberculosis (TB) treatment initiation and associated factors among children with central nervous system‑TB (CNS‑TB). A total of 38 children were enrolled for the quantitative component, and 20 in‑depth interviews were conducted. The median duration (interquartile range) from onset of symptoms to treatment initiation was 23 (11, 55) days. About 44% and 31% of the children presented with Stage II and Stage III of CNS‑TB, respectively. The major reasons for delay were symptoms not taken seriously (50%) and too many referrals (21%). About 89% of the families went into catastrophic health expenditure due to the disease. The treatment delay may be due to both patient delay and health system delay. Tailoring approaches to target the pediatric population could further improve early detection and treatment initiation of CNS‑TB.

Affiliation: ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Central nervous system, health care‑seeking behavior, pediatrics, time‑to‑treatment, tuberculosis
Subjects: Tuberculosis > Epidemiological Research
Tuberculosis
Divisions: Epidemiology
Depositing User: Mrs. N Lakshmi
Date Deposited: 27 Jul 2023 05:12
Last Modified: 27 Jul 2023 05:12
URI: http://eprints.nirt.res.in/id/eprint/1971

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