Background: Childhood TB is a marker for on-going transmission of infection within a community and infected children represent the pool from which a large proportion of future cases of adult TB will arise. Objective: Our aim was to describe the patients’ characteristics, clinic-epidemiological profile, and treatment outcome of childhood tuberculosis (TB). Methods: A retrospective, descriptive study of 331children aged 0 to 15 years registered under RNTCP from January 2013 to December 2013 in a city of Gujarat was undertaken. Results: Out of total registered pediatric TB patients 60.4% were girls & 39.6 % were boys. More than 50% of girls were diagnosed after the age of 10 years compared to the boys among whom more than 50% were diagnosed before the age of 10 years. There was more number of girls having past history of incomplete TB treatment in comparison to boys. Out of total registered pediatric TB patients, 59.7% were registered as sputum smear positive pulmonary cases & maximum cases of it registered in the age group of 11 to 15 years and least in 0 to 5 years of age group. Conclusions: 21.5 % children were declared cured, 74.3 % children declared treatment completed, 2.1 % children declared default while 1 child (0.3%) was declared failure during the treatment. Lymph node was the major site of involvement in extra pulmonary TB. More numbers of Girls, having past history of TB treatment compared to boys.
