Pediatrics

OBJECTIVEWe examined heterogeneity among children and adolescents diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in the United States, and we investigated potential international TB exposure risk.METHODSWe analyzed demographic and clinical characteristics by origin of birth for persons 3 years before TB diagnosis. Foreign-born pediatric patients with foreign-born parents were older (mean, 7.8 years) than foreign-born patients with US-born parents (4.2 years) or US-born patients (3.6 years). Among US-born pediatric patients, 66% had at least 1 foreign-born parent, which is >3 times the proportion in the general population. Only 25% of pediatric patients with TB diagnosed in the United States had no known international connection through family or residence history.CONCLUSIONSThree-quarters of pediatric patients with TB in the United States have potential TB exposures through foreign-born parents or residence outside the United States. Missed opportunities to prevent TB disease may occur if clinicians fail to assess all potential TB exposures during routine clinic visits.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2015-10-13T00:00:00Z23184110PMC46023737184vault:278