Project Title

Long term sequelae in children with suspected or confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB): a prospective cohort study

Project Objectives

1. To describe the burden and spectrum of long term morbidity in children treated for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Cape Town, South Africa. 2. To identify the risk factors associated with post-PTB sequelae in children successfully treated for PTB in Cape Town, South Africa

Host Organisation

EDCTP Project Call

Career Development Fellowship (CDF)

Study Design

Prospective cohort

Project Summary

Tuberculosis (TB) is very common in sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to acute morbidity and mortality and long-term consequences. Available clinical guidelines only address the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. In children, no clinical guidelines exist on spectrum, burden or management of post-tuberculosis complications. I am investigating medium-term lung function outcomes among children who have been treated for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at start of treatment and 6 months after completion of treatment. I have a comparator group of children who have been treated for non-TB lower respiratory tract infection, followed up to 3 months. I am looking at the general health of children treated for TB, any persisting chest radiograph changes after treatment and how their lungs function. We aim to recruit at least 300 children (200 with confirmed or unconfirmed TB and 100 with unlikely TB (other non-TB lower respiratory tract infections). During the second year of the project, we have recruited and performed lung function testing on 105 children with confirmed or suspected TB. Recruitment and lung function testing is ongoing. Preliminary data was presented in the e-poster at the 11th EDCTP forum in November 2023 and one publication on this preliminary data has recently been published in ERJ. This research project continues to expose me to project management, writing grant reports and team management. The study will provide data on post-tuberculosis consequences in children, an area that has not been investigated before in southern Africa where the burden of TB disease is enormous. This will further contribute to establishing clinical guidelines for children treated for TB which are currently lacking.

Current Organisation

University of Cape Town

Current Job Title

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Biography

Leah Githinji (Ferguson) is a clinician-scientist, board certified paediatric pulmonologist with a PhD in Paediatrics (Lung function in HIV-infected adolescents on antiretroviral therapy: The Cape Town Adolescent Antiretroviral Cohort).