Tuberculosis
Conditions
Interventions
Sponsors
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Children younger than 15 years admitted with a suspicion of TB, whose parents or legal guardians give consent and assent (children 8 years and above) for participation, shall be included in the study as cases.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Children who fit the inclusion criteria but are too weak for sputum induction per clinical assessment Children with other respiratory conditions that may affect sputum production. Children for whom informed consent by legal guardians is not provided or do not provide assent (children 8 years and above) shall be excluded from the study. Children below the age of 8 years.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Quantitative evaluation of the success rates of sputum induction in collecting adequate and quality specimens from paediatric tuberculosis patients in Ghana. 2. Evaluation of how the use of improved sputum collection techniques can improve diagnostic outcomes. 3. Identification of robust T-cells and cytokines biomarkers for the diagnosis of paediatric tuberculosis in Ghana. 4. Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of T-cells and cytokines biomarkers as diagnostic tools for paediatric tuberculosis in Ghana | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. To build the capacity of clinicians and healthcare practitioners in the pediatric tuberculosis management cascade on the safe sputum induction techniques and draft a facility-specific inclusive algorithm for the induction in collaboration with the national TB control program 2. To identify challenges associated with the implementation of the sputum induction algorithm for childhood tuberculosis diagnosis in the Ghanaian clinical setting 3. To identify robust T-cell biomarkers and cytokines able to discriminate pulmonary tuberculosis from other co-infections. | — |
Countries
Ghana
Contacts
Paediatric Pulmonologist