Consolidated Guidelines

The objectives of the 2022 consolidated guidelines on the management of TB in children and adolescents are to:

Since the publication of the WHO Guidance for national tuberculosis programmes on the management of tuberculosis in children (second edition) (2014) (8),there have been numerous studies, including reviews, randomized controlled trials, observational studies, pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic studies, qualitative research and cost-effectiveness research, which have evaluated the impact of various interventions.

Children and young adolescents (aged below 15 years) represent about 11% of all people with TB globally. This means that close to 1.1 million children become ill with TB every year, almost half of them below five years of age. National TB programmes (NTPs) only notify less than half of these children, meaning that there is a large case detection gap (1).

Unless otherwise specified, the terms defined here apply as used in this document. They may have different meanings in other contexts.

Active (tuberculosis) case-finding: Provider-initiated screening and testing in communities by mobile teams, often using mobile X-ray and rapid molecular tests. The term is sometimes used synonymously with "systematic screening".

The production and writing of the WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis. Module 5: management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents, 2022 was coordinated by Sabine Verkuijl, Annemieke Brands, Kerri Viney and Tiziana Masini, under the guidance of Farai Mavhunga, head of the TB Vulnerable Populations, Communities and Comorbidities unit and the overall direction of Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis (TB) Programme.