Investigation of Toddlers in Close Contact of Tuberculosis Patients Using Molecular Rapid Test and Tuberculin Skin Test
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Abstract
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious challenge for global and national health, including in Surabaya, with toddlers as the most vulnerable group due to their immature immune systems and close exposure to TB patients in the surrounding environment. TB diagnosis in toddlers is often hampered by the difficulty of obtaining sputum and the paucibacillary nature of the disease. The World Health Organization recommends the use of stool-based Molecular Rapid Tests (MRT) as an alternative bacteriological examination, although its implementation in primary care is still limited. This study aims to analyze the results of Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection through stool MRT and Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) in toddlers who are close contacts of TB patients.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational analytical design in 30 toddlers. Data were reviewed from medical records including symptom screening, nutritional status, stool MRT results, and TST.
Results: The results showed that all respondents (100%) were negative for stool MRT, while 66.67% showed a positive TST indicating latent TB infection (LTBI). Further analysis revealed a significant association between age and TST results, while gender, relationships with TB patients, nutritional status, and symptoms were not significantly associated.
Conclusion: These findings confirm that stool MRT has limited sensitivity in asymptomatic toddlers, while TST can still be a screening method in detecting latent TB infection. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen contact investigations, increase LTBI screening coverage, and optimize TB preventive therapy (TPT) in primary health care to prevent progression to active TB in vulnerable groups.
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