Frequency of BCG vaccination among children with pulmonary tuberculosis at a tertiary care hospital.

Abstract

Introduction: There are more instances of tuberculosis in children than the World Health Organization predicts. Most TB cases (95%) are found in low-income nations. Neonate BCG immunization is recommended by the WHO in countries with a "high prevalence" of tuberculosis.Objective: To determine the frequency of BCG vaccination in children diagnosed with pulmonary Tuberculosis at a tertiary care hospital.Methodology: From June 2019 to December 2019, researchers examined the prevalence of pulmonary TB in children aged 2-12 using a cross-sectional descriptive research design. Pulmonary TB was diagnosed in 273 people who had a cough and fever for more than 2 weeks and had a PPA score of 7 or above on the Pakistan Pe-diatric Association (PPA) grading table. Patients were checked for BCG immunization status. The analysis of the data performed using SPSS version 23.Results: Patients from rural regions contributed 68.86%, while those from metro-politan areas made up 33.14. Contact with tuberculosis patients was reported by 17.22% of patients.74.3% of kids got the BCG shot.Conclusion: BCG is the sole effective method of preventing tuberculosis in children and young adults. Children who received the BCG vaccine had a 74.36% increased risk of developing TB in the lungs, according to the current study.Keywords: BCG vaccine, pulmonary tuberculosis, vaccine efficacy.