TREC as a personalized tuberculosis predictor in infants and preschool children

Aim. Quantitative assessment of TREC and KREC in infants and preschool children infected with tuberculosis infection (TI). Material and methods. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022. The observation group consisted of 87 children of early childhood age in contact with TB patients, of whom 27 were diagnosed with TB, 34 were tested positive to TB based on skin tests without signs of a local specific process (TI), 26 were children without signs of tuberculosis infection according to the results of skin tests and local process (conditionally healthy children). Results. The following factors significant in the assessment of tuberculosis infection were determined: anti-tuberculosis therapy ( F = 42.001; p = 0.000001); positive or negative response to the tuberculosis recombinant allergen (RTA) during an intradermal test ( F = 39.394; p = 0.000001); high TREC levels in the blood ( F = 12.707; p = 0.000001); the presence of a tuberculin response ( F = 10.625; p = 0.000006); and KREC levels ( F = 3.182; p = 0.039). Conclusions. According to the obtained results, TREC levels can be considered as a personalized risk predictor of tuberculosis infection in infants and preschool children.