Public Health Action Childhood tuberculosis in Bhutan: profi le and treatment outcomes

children are at higher risk of developing TB after infection and of developing severe forms of TB.9,10,13 Treatment outcomes vary. In one study from Malawi, treatment outcomes among children with TB were found to be poor,14 while studies from India showed high treatment success rates among children.15,16 Although there are no representative data on the situation and burden of childhood TB in Bhutan, a 6-year retrospective study conducted in Phuentsholing General Hospital, a TB centre in Bhutan, found that children accounted for 12.4% of the total number of cases.17 Routinely reported data do not capture comprehensive information on treatment outcomes and associated characteristics. This study was therefore undertaken to describe the number and proportion of childhood TB cases registered under the Bhutan NTCP in 2010, their demographic and clinical characteristics and any associations between these characteristics and treatment outcomes.