TABLE 2.
Primary Reason Evaluated Among Children and Adolescents With TB, United States, 2009–2010
| US-born With Linked TB Case, 188 (100), N (%) | All US-born, 1162 (100), N (%) | Foreign-born With Linked TB Case, 13 (100), N (%) | All Foreign-born, 518 (100), N (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contact investigation | 131 (70) | 367 (32) | 13 (100) | 39 (8) |
| TB symptoms | 31 (16) | 334 (29) | — | 169 (33) |
| Abnormal radiograph | 17 (9) | 170 (15) | — | 112 (22) |
| Targeted testing | 5 (3) | 40 (3) | — | 32 (6) |
| Immigration examination | Not applicable | Not applicable | — | 43 (8) |
| Other | 2 (1) | 36 (3) | — | 18 (3) |
| Unknown | 2 (1) | 215 (19) | — | 105 (20) |
Data collection instructions were, “Select the single primary or initial reason the patient was evaluated for TB disease…the situation or reason that led to the initial suspicion that the patient might have TB disease.” Definitions: contact investigation: result of a contact investigation or source case finding; TB symptoms: signs and symptoms consistent with TB (eg, prolonged persistent cough, fever, lymphadenopathy, night sweats, weight loss) if patient seeks medical attention because of symptoms not to be selected if symptoms discovered during a screening program; abnormal chest radiograph: incidental chest radiograph consistent with TB disease, independent of other choices and not the result of suspicion of TB disease; targeted testing: positive result of tuberculin skin test or interferon γ release assay administered because the patient was specifically high risk for TB (eg, persons from area of the world with high rate of TB) or as part of a testing program focused on specific groups at risk for TB, not to be selected if another reason (eg, contact investigation, immigration medical examination, employment/administrative testing, or health care worker status) is more appropriate; immigration examination: findings of a medical examination as part of the immigration application process; other: incidental laboratory result for clinical evaluation for something other than TB (eg, bronchoscopy or autopsy) or employment or administrative TB testing such as school-based testing or testing of health care workers; unknown: reason for evaluating the patient not known. Percent totals may vary slightly from 100% due to rounding.