[Tuberculosis in childhood and adolescence: prevalence and factors associated with treatment abandonment]

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that remains a serious public health problem worldwide. In the pediatric population, the knowledge about the factors that lead to the abandonment of TB treatment is limited, especially in regions with a high prevalence of the disease. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors associated with TB treatment abandonment in children and adolescents. A cross-sectional study was carried out using data obtained from TB notifications from the São Paulo State Tuberculosis Patient Control System, Brazil, for individuals aged between 0 and 18 years, from January 2009 to December 2019. The crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated with a 95% confidence interval, using the Poisson regression model to identify associations between the outcome of treatment abandonment and the sociodemographic, clinical-epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic factors of TB cases with complete information. Of the 12,256 cases analyzed, 941 individuals abandoned treatment. The highest prevalence rate of treatment abandonment occurs among Black or brown adolescents, those over 11 years of age and those deprived of their liberty. Other characteristics associated with treatment abandonment include: being a person living with HIV/AIDS, having a history of previous TB treatment, using illicit substances and using a self-administered TB treatment regimen. Knowing the profile of the patient most likely to abandon TB treatment makes it possible to devise more effective strategies focused on adherence to drug treatment.