TB chest or pulmonary tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Primarily TB bacteria attack the lungs and then it spreads to other organs.
TB chest or pulmonary tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Primarily TB bacteria attack the lungs and then it spreads to other organs. Tuberculosis in the chest most commonly involves the lungs followed by lymph nodes, chest wall, cardiac, breast, and skeletal involvement can also occur in the thorax.
Tuberculosis is a significant cause of illness and death, especially among immune-compromised individuals.
What Are the Causes of Tuberculosis?
Pulmonary TB caused by M tuberculosis. TB is a highly contagious airborne disease.TB bacteria spread from one person to another by breathing infected droplets from infected person
Facts About TB Bacteria-
Mycobacterium tuberculosis has unique features in comparison to other bacteria-
This bacteria has a protective covering.
This bacteria shows resistance to several antibiotics
Difficulty staining with Gram stain or several other stains
This bacteria is able to survive under extreme conditions such as extremely high pH and low pH, low oxygen situations, and intracellular survival because of the protective layer.
The following people are at higher risk of tuberculosis-
- Older adults
- Infants
- Organ transplant
- Individuals with weak immune systems or patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, diabetes or certain medicines.
- Live in crowded and dirty places
- Have poor nutrition
- People with malnutrition
- Head and neck cancer
What Are the Symptoms of TB Chest?
Initially pulmonary tuberculosis does not cause any symptoms. When symptoms of TB chest occur, they are-
- Difficulty in breathing
- Chest pain/ dyspnea
- Cough (with mucous and blood)
- Fever with cills
- Sudden weight loss
- Wheezing
- Sweating
- Weakness/ fatigue
How Can Healthcare Providers Examine Chest TB?
The doctor will evaluate your physical signs and ask about your health to understand better about the patient's condition.
Doctor may ask you to undergo following test-
- Blood Culture
- Sputum test
- Ultrasound - For pleural effusion detection, characterisation, directing drainage, and follow-up, sonography is particularly helpful. A frequent indication is to distinguish between mild effusion and persistent thickening. Additionally, USG can be utilised to assess concomitant abdominal lymphadenopathy, ascites, and hepatosplenomegaly.
- Chest X-ray- Chest X ray is indicated to rule out the presence of TB in lungs in all screening test positive cases. It also assesses the extent of involvement of lungs.
- Gram stain, other special stains and culture of CSF
- Polymerase chain reaction of CSF
- Tuberculin Skin test for TB (PPD)/ mantoux test
- Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast bacilli (AFB)
- TB Gold Quantiferon Test
- Biopsy of the brain or meninges
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination for cell count, glucose and protein
- CT Chest- CT chest enables to diagnose early and activity of tuberculosis bacteria in chest. Ct can detect the bronchiectasis, cavitations, assess the necrosed part and diaphragmatic pathologies and bones.
- HRCT- It is important in diagnosing pulmonary TB . HRCT is useful to detect miliary and centrilobular nodules, ground-glass opacities, and air-trapping and outlines the various situations where CT chest is recommended.
- CECT- CECT is the investigation of choice for Chest TB it's aid in evaluation of pleural enhancement in empyema.
- MRI chest- MRI is an important tool and ultimate solution of a problem. It can be used to detect the extent of tuberculosis, mediastinal nodes and assess the disease activity.
- PET CT (FDG-PET)- PET-CT may help in assessing the disease activity and response to therapy. FDG-PET CT scan guided biopsy from active stress site of Chest.
How Do You Treat TB?
Tuberculosis can be treated with medications for most people. Doctors may prescribe you tuberculosis medicines and vitamin pills for early recovery. TB medications are available free of cost in public health departments or government hospitals.
MDR-TB or XDR-TB is difficult to treat because of resistance developed against the medicine. If anyone takes TB medication for a longer period of time the resistance can develop and other TB medications with higher side effects will be advised. So, early diagnosis and treatment is a crucial tool in pulmonary TB. The course of medicine may vary from 3 months to years.
Patients are advised to stay at home or admitted to hospital for 2-4 weeks to avoid spreading the infection.
What Are the Complications of TB Chest?
TB chest or pulmonary TB can cause permanent lung damage or it may spread to other parts of the body.
There are some side effects of tuberculosis medicines and these are-
- Change in vision
- Orange or brown urine
- Rashes
- Liver inflammation
How To Prevent and Control Chest TB?
- Vaccination of TB- BCG vaccine
- Cough hygiene- Cover the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing
- Use mask to stop the spread of tuberculosis
- Good ventilation in the room of infected person
- Good nutrition- Good nutrition and hygiene maintenance can boost immunity of an individual
- Screening of contacts of TB patients
To Seek Free Consultation From Doctor
Why Ganesh Diagnostic and Imaging Centre Should Be Your Preference for Screening of Tuberculosis?
At Ganesh Diagnostic and Imaging Centre, we are known for providing excellent service and care to its patients for decades. Lakhs of satisfied patients over the years.
Their excellence is backed by NABH and NABL Accreditations.
NABH accreditation is proof of the highest standard of care and service provided to the patients. NABL accreditation reflects the competency of laboratories and equipment based on some national and international standards.
Speed and convenience are essential for us. we offer early testing services and prompt report delivery which avoids unnecessary stress during your diagnostic procedure.
Test report is available digitally too.
Ganesh Diagnostic and Imaging Centre is a one-stop solution for getting all kinds of tests done, as all services are available under one roof.
The aim of GDIC is to provide world’s finest technology at the lowest price.
We are based in Delhi NCR Region, and our branches are in the following regions:
Yamuna Vihar, Mangol Puri, Budh Vihar, Model Town, Hari Nagar, Nagloi, Rohini
The rates of scans are reasonably priced. Ganesh Diagnostic and Imaging Centre also offers FLAT 50% OFF on many tests.
References-
1. Tuberculosis Rotimi Adigun; Rahulkumar Singh.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441916
2. Bhalla AS, Goyal A, Guleria R, Gupta AK. Chest tuberculosis: Radiological review and imaging recommendations. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2015 Jul-Sep;25(3):213-25. doi: 10.4103/0971-3026.161431. PMID: 26288514; PMCID: PMC4531444
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4531444/
3. WHO Global tuberculosis report. 2013. [Last accessed on 2014 Aug 06]. Available from: http://www.who.int/tb
