OBJECTIVE : Tuberculosis (TB) in adolescent has different features from adult and young children. Understanding the characteristic of this population is important for proper diagnosis. This study aims to report the characteristic of adolescent TB in Dr. Kariadi Hospital Semarang.
METHOD : We reviewed medical records of  children aged 0 to 18 years admitted to Dr. Kariadi Hospital from January 2017 to May 2019 with TB. Characteristic of TB in adolescents (10 to 18 years old) and young children (less than 10 years old) were described. Clinical features, acid – fast smear of sputum, and GeneXpert Assay were compared. Chi – square was used for statistical analysis.
RESULT : We found 153 children, consist of 67 (43.8 %) adolescents and 86 (56.2 %) young children. Female gender, positive acid - fast smear of sputum, and detection of MTB by GeneXpert Assay were found to be higher in adolescent as compared to young children, (56.7 % vs 41.9 %, p = 0.068; 31.34% vs 5.81%, p <0.001; 37.31 % vs 7%, p<0.001, respectively). Extrapulmonary TB were found to be higher in adolescent than young children (49.25% vs 20.93% p < 0.001) consist of abdominal TB (33.3%), spondylitis TB (30.3%), meningoencephalitis TB (24.2%), TB of Joints (9.1%), and TB of lymph node (3.0%). Miliary TB was found in 5 (7.4 %) adolescents and 1  (1.1 %) young child. Drug resistance was found in 4 adolescents.
CONCLUSION : Extrapulmonary and complicated manifestation of TB were more common in adolescent. Adolescent role in transmission might be more potential than young children because of higher proportion of positive acid – fast smear. Drug resistance had been found only in adolescent. Evaluation and encouragement of the appropriate diagnosis and management of TB in young children is highly recommended.