Assessment of the nutritional status in children with tuberculosis as a guide for successful treatment

ABSTRACT

This work was intended to study the nutritional status of tuberculous patients to form a strategy for intervention. It was carried out on 71 infants and children. Pulmonary TB occurred in 51 cases and cervical TB lymphadenitis in 16 cases. There were 63.3% cases with normal nutrition, 32.5% stunted cases, 2.8% wasted cases and 1.4% wasted and stunted cases. There were 44 BCG-vaccinated cases and 27 non-vaccinated ones. Tuberculin test was positive in all cases. It was concluded that malnutrition, especially stunting, was so common among TB children, especially in females