A Study on the Role of Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) for Diagnosing Pediatric Tuberculosis in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Eastern India

Introduction: India accounts for one-fifth of the global tuberculosis (TB) incidence, with TB remaining one of the leading causes of childhood mortality and morbidity. Bacteriological confirmation of TB in children is challenging due to difficulty in obtaining quality specimens, in the absence of which diagnosis largely depends on clinical judgement. Lack of high sensitivity tests adds to the diagnostic challenge. This study focuses on finding the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CBNAAT for diagnosis of TB in pediatric population in pulmonary and extra pulmonary specimens.