Abstract:
ntroduction: Tuberculosis is a Chronic necrotizing disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
complex. Children are highly susceptible to tuberculosis infection and disease contacted with pulmonary
positive tuberculosis patients. Up to seventy percent of children living in the same household with
infectious tuberculosis patients will become infected. Thus, early contact screening and Isoniazid
prophylaxis is a preventive mechanism for under five children who had contact with pulmonary positive
tuberculosis patients.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess contact screening and isoniazid prophylaxis of
children under age five among pulmonary positive tuberculosis patients in Bahir Dar special
administrative zone, north-west Ethiopia.
Methods: A facility based cross sectional study design was conducted from March 1-30/2016 in Bahir
Dar special administration zone, Amhara Region. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used
and 255 Pulmonary positive tuberculosis patients who had under five year children were interviewed
about contact screening & Isoniazid prophylaxis for their under five children. Epi data version 3.1 was
used for data entry and SPSS version 20 was used for analysis. Each independent variable was assessed
for statistically significant association with the dependent variables in bivariate analysis. Those variables
found less than 0.25 p-value by bivariate analysis were entered into multiple Logistic regression to
identify statistically significant independent factors when the effect of other variables is adjusted.
Adjusted odds ratio at 95% CI and p-value of less than 0.05 are presented.
Results: - About 255 PTB+ patients were interviewed and 260 under five children were identified. Of
them 149 (57.3 %) were screened for TB disease and 11 (4.2 %) were developed disease. From disease
free contacts and those screened, 44 (16.9 %) were started IPT. Contact screening was associated with
attitude towards contact screening (P =0.001). Contact screening was higher among females (AOR=5.3,
95% CI, (1.2, and 23.2)) and HIV positive patients were nineteen times more likely to screening
adherence (AOR =19, 95 % CI: (2.1, 16.87). IPT was also associated with relationship of index cases
with contacts (AOR= 0.1, 95 % CI: (0.01, 0.5)) and knowledge towards TB and IPT (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: - Under five children contact screening and IPT is low in Bahir Dar special zone. Those
participants who got contact screening and IPT information were only from HCWs. HCWs should
increase patients’ knowledge & creating positive attitude towards under five contact screening and IPT.
Health facilities should give contact screening and Isoniazid preventive therapy information of
contacted under five children for every PTB+ patients and need strict follow up of them.
