Unrecognized and delayed to diagnose of adolescence tuberculosis case in a boarding school in West Java, Indonesia

Adolescent is a high-risk population for developing tuberculosis (TB) disease, unfortunately adolescence TB remains to be neglected. Clinical manifestations of TB are usually chronic and nonspecific that could be mimicking other disease. Unrecognized TB disease will lead to misdiagnosis, delayed, and inappropriate management. A 15-year-old female adolescent, admitted to the hospital due to severe anemia, loss of body weight accompanied with recurrent fever and tend to be easily tired. She was through investigation for hematology disorder with normal results. She was studying in a Muslim boarding school with overcrowded environment. History of contact with TB patient was unclear. Tuberculosis diagnosed based on positive genXpert result, detected sensitive to rifampicin Mycobacterium tuberculosis although acid-fast bacilli sputum smear and culture yielded results were negative. Worsening of the chest X-ray were obtained, initially showed infiltrate of the lung and then revealed bronchogenic spread. Lymph nodes enlargement of the neck-proven TB from fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Anti-TB drugs were started, and after the treatment, there were clinical improvement. TB among adolescents against many unique challenges such as difficulty in case detection, wider potential transmissions and problem on adherence; hence, this age group should be identified as a primary issue in the community.