Multicenter Italian Cohort Study on Tuberculosis in Pediatric Age

February 29, 2024 updated by: Luisa Galli, Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS

Multicenter Italian Observational Cohort Study on Tuberculosis in Pediatric Age

According to the WHO report of 2021, approximately 10 million new cases were reported in 2020, of which 1 million occurred in the pediatric population. However, epidemiological data available on tuberculosis (TB) in pediatric age are extremely limited due to diagnostic challenges in this patient category. Furthermore, children are almost never included in national surveillance systems due to the lack of connections between individual pediatricians, pediatric hospitals, and national surveillance programs. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the disease may be significantly underestimated both in Italy and worldwide.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

In recent decades, Tuberculosis (TB) has been considered, in industrialized countries, as predominantly an infectious disease of the elderly. However, since the 2000s, TB has re-emerged not only in the elderly but also in the young and especially in pediatric populations. Among the factors influencing the increase in the incidence of this pathology are certainly to be considered the rise in immigration from countries with high endemicity, where TB still represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, the spread of immunodeficiency caused by HIV infection, the use of immunosuppressive drugs, and the emergence of strains of M. tuberculosis resistant to traditional antibiotic therapy.

According to the WHO report of 2021, approximately 10 million new cases were reported in 2020, of which 1 million occurred in the pediatric population. However, epidemiological data available on TB in pediatric age are extremely limited due to diagnostic difficulties in this patient category. In children, in fact, bacteriological examination is negative in 95% of cases, and the diagnosis is made through a combination of clinical criteria and tests that are poorly specific for tuberculous infection and especially not universally accepted. In addition to diagnostic controversies, children are almost never included in national surveillance systems due to the lack of connections between individual pediatricians, pediatric hospitals, and national surveillance programs. It is therefore reasonable to assume that this condition may be significantly underestimated both in Italy and worldwide.

Another important aspect to consider is that tuberculous disease, whether active or latent, in a child should be considered a sentinel event that indicates recent transmission of M. tuberculosis within the community. Especially in the pediatric population, in addition to the mandatory reporting of confirmed cases of TB disease, it is important to identify cases of latent TB through historical and diagnostic criteria. Children indeed have a greater likelihood that the disease will progress to the active form compared to adults and that the progression will be towards a more severe form. Children with latent tuberculous infection also become a reservoir for the transmission of the infection, fueling future epidemics.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

1000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

During the study, data will be collected on patients affected by active TB, latent TB, and TB-exposed non-infected individuals from each participating center. The study will take place at the main pediatric centers in Italy that consecutively admit patients diagnosed with active and latent TB, as well as individuals exposed to tuberculosis who are seen at participating clinical centers.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Pediatric patients (0-18 years old) at the time of the initial observation
  • Patients affected by active and latent TB, as defined by the criteria of the World Health Organization
  • Patients exposed to TB who are found to be non-infected at the end of the window period
  • Informed consent signed by parents/legal guardian or by the patient who has reached the legal age of consent, assent of the minor

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Epidemiology of Tuberculosis
Time Frame: Baseline-pretreatment, through treatment period completion, an average of 6 months, outcome at 24 months
Describe the epidemiology of pediatric tuberculosis in the country also for the definition of control and prevention measures.
Baseline-pretreatment, through treatment period completion, an average of 6 months, outcome at 24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 22, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 2, 2033

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2033

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 15, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 29, 2024

First Posted (Estimated)

March 4, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

March 4, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 29, 2024

Last Verified

February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PED-TB22

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Tuberculosis Infection

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Czech Republic

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe