After promising results from a randomized trial, the World Health Organization is expected to recommend shortening of treatment of children with mild tuberculosis by 2 months, bringing it down from 6 months to 4 months. 

A team of researchers has noted that the shortened course of antibiotics was not any less effective or safe than the conventional treatment regimen. Additionally, it saved on average $17.34 per child. In the study, 1204 children with TB, aged 2 months to 15 years, in four countries, including Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, and India, were allocated to treatment with either a 4- or a 6-month regimen of first-line medications rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol. The children had symptomatic nonsevere lung or lymph node infections with a negative sputum smear. Around 11% of the kids also had HIV.

After 18 months, 16 children in the group given the shortened treatment and 18 kids in the standard treatment group experienced an unfavorable outcome, like treatment failure, recurrence, loss to follow-up, or death (adjusted difference, -0.4 percentage points). Forty seven participants in the shortened treatment group and 48 in the standard group had severe or life-threatening adverse events, most commonly chest infections, like pneumonia, and liver ailments, during treatment or up to 30 days following the administration of the last dose… (Medscape, March 9, 2022)