A Prospective Study On Utility Of Cbnaat In Enhancing Tb Case Detection In Pediatric Household Contacts Of Pulmonary Positive Tb Patients

Abstract

Background: Burden of childhood TB is a very important measure of TB control in a community as it reflects recent transmission. CBNAAT assay is a rapid test which identifies both the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance associated with mutation of rpoB gene in a single test. Objectives: To evaluate the utility of CBNAAT in enhancing TB case detection in pediatric household contacts of pulmonary positive TB patients. Materials and Methods: It was an observational prospective study including 200 contacts from July 2019 to June 2020 on pediatric household contacts (0- 18 years) of diagnosed pulmonary positive TB patients. Result: Out of 200 pediatric contacts, 25 came out to be positive for tuberculosis by ZN staining and 67 were CBNAAT positive for tuberculosis which was found to be statistically significant. Out of 36 extra pulmonary tubercular cases, 26 (38.81%) were abdominal tuberculosis, 5 (7.46%) were CNS tuberculosis, 4 (5.97%) miliary and 1 (1.49%) of pleural etiology. Out of 67 CBNAAT positive contacts, 8(11.94%) were found to be resistant to Rifampicin. Conclusion: CBNAAT is an effective tool for rapid detection of tuberculosis and can revolutionise the scenario in prevention and management of tuberculosis which identifies both the presence of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance.