[Tuberculosis in children: diagnosis of and methods for the evaluation of chemotherapy]. / Diagnostika i metod opredeleniia éffektivnosti khimioterapii tuberkuleza u detei.

The authors propose to determine altered forms of Mycobacteria, including sputum and blood granular forms, and the level of tuberculosis antibodies and serum Mycobacterium antigens by enzyme immunoassay as additional criteria for diagnosis of active primary tuberculosis in children. The diagnostic value of these indices is accounted for by the fact that they are found significantly more frequently and their level is significantly higher than the similar indices in healthy, tuberculosis-infected children and tuberculin-negative, prior BCG-vaccinated ones. By taking into account an decrease in the detection rate of sputum and blood granular mycobacteria and a change in the level of tuberculosis antibodies during chemotherapy, which are observed along with positive clinical and X-ray changes of a process, these tests should be recommended for evaluation of the efficiency of primary a bacillary tuberculosis in children.

[Improvement of diagnostics and methods of determining effectiveness of chemotherapy against tuberculosis in children]. / Sovershenstvovanie diagnostikik i metodov opredelneniia éffektivnosti khimioterapii tuberkuleza u detei.

Altered Mycobacterial forms, particularly granular forms, in the sputum and blood, as well as the serum level of tuberculosis antibodies and mycobacterial antigens by enzyme immunoassay are proposed to be determined as additional criteria for diagnosing active primary tuberculosis in children. The diagnostic value of these indices is accounted for by that they are more frequently detected and their levels are significantly higher than the similar ones in healthy, tuberculosis-infected children, and tuberculin-negative, earlier BCG vaccinated children. By taking into account a reduction in the detection rate of granular forms of Mycobacteria in the sputum and blood and altered levels of tuberculosis antibodies during chemotherapy, which were observed in parallel to the positive clinical and X-ray changes, these tests may be recommended for evaluation of the efficiency of treatment for primary abacillary tuberculosis in children.

[Effectiveness of isoniazid in tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis in children with rising tuberculin sensitivity]. / Effektivnost' khimioprofilaktiki tuberkuleza izoniazidom u detei s usilivaiushcheisia tuberkulinovoi chuvstvitel'nost'iu.

70 children aged 4-15 with growing tuberculin sensitivity received preventive treatment with isoniazid in children's sanatorium. The drug was taken for 2 or 3 months in a dose 10 mg/kg daily (19 and 51 children, respectively). Preventive isoniazid course proved effective as none of the children treated developed tuberculosis within 3 years. The 3-month course is preferable as it is more potent in relation to tuberculin sensitivity immediately after the treatment termination and 1, 2 years after it.