ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical features and culture-positive rates according to the involved lung in adolescent pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of adolescents who ranged in age from 10 to 20 years and who had been hospitalized with a diagnosis of TB at Kwangju Christian Hospital from 2000 to 2008. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients were identified with pulmonary TB: median age 16.82 years; 48.5% males. Among them, 90.9% of patients were between 15 and 20 years of age. Most patients presented with multiple symptoms, and the most common included cough (74.2%), sputum (60.6%), fever (39.5%), and night sweating (18.2%). Sputum samples were smear-positive in 28 (42.4%), culture-positive in 40 (60.6%), and PCR-positive in 46 (69.7%). The most common radiological patterns included cavitation in 18 (27.3%), pleural effusion in 18 (27.3%), lymphadenopathy in 10 (15.2%), and tuberculoma in 5 (7.6%). The prevalence of smear, culture, and PCR positive rates increased as the number of involved lobes increased (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.05). The median treatment duration was 7 months. Twelve patients (18.2%) had lower lung field TB (Group A) and forty-four patients (66.7%) had other areas involving TB, except for Group A (Group B), and ten patients (15.1%) had only TB pleurisy (Group C). The difference of clinical characteristics and culture rates between group A and group B was not significant. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary TB toward late adolescence is increasing. We need to pay more attention to lower lung field TB, which is difficult to detect with specific radiographic findings.