Advances in treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis in children

Abstract

The past twelve years have witnessed a great change in the treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis in patients of all ages. Twelve years ago, children with this condition at High Wood Hospital were treated with graduated rest and the majority underwent collapse therapy. In I949 chemotherapy was being introduced as an adjunct to collapse therapy and during the next few years it gradually came to be realized that prolonged chemotherapy alone might be sufficient to cure most of the patients. Today, collapse therapy is a rarity and no artificial pneumothorax or pneumoperitoneum has been induced in this hospital since August x956. The majority of children are treated with graduated rest and chemotherapy alone. A few need surgery, generally for gross residual disease, unclosed cavities, or when resistant organisms prevent effective chemotherapy. Prior to the introduction of chemotherapy there was a heavy mortality rate in children with chronic puhnonary tuberculosis, despite prolonged residential treatment and collapse therapy. Now, modern methods of treatment give a good expectation of cure, and it is to assess the degree of improvement in prognosis that an investigation has been made of the results in x47 children with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis treated at High Wood.