What are the consequences of a delay in diagnosis of tuberculosis?

What are the consequences of a delay in diagnosis of tuberculosis?

Introduction: Delay in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) can lead to an increased infectivity period, delayed treatment, and increased severity of the disease.

Can late stage tuberculosis be cured?

Can TB be completely cured? TB can usually be completely cured by the person with TB taking a combination of TB drugs. The only time that TB may not be curable is when the person has drug resistant TB.

Can TB go undetected for years?

Your symptoms might not begin until months or even years after you were initially infected. Sometimes the infection does not cause any symptoms. This is known as latent TB. It’s called active TB if you have symptoms.

Is late stage TB contagious?

Although tuberculosis is contagious, it’s not easy to catch. You’re much more likely to get tuberculosis from someone you live or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who’ve had appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

What is cavitation in tuberculosis?

Dead, or necrotic, tissue tends to tear and break down. In the lung, this is called ‘cavitation’, after the latin word for cave. It is thought that the TB bacilli destroy the lung tissue in a cave formation, where more and more of them sit in the middle and slowly destroy more tissue at the edges.

Where is tuberculosis most commonly found?

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria that grow best in areas of the body that have lots of blood and oxygen. That’s why it is most often found in the lungs. This is called pulmonary TB. But TB can also spread to other parts of the body, which is called extrapulmonary TB.

What happens if you have a latent TB infection?

With a latent infection, you’ll have a negative chest X-ray and a negative sputum test. About 5% to 10% of people who have a latent TB infection will eventually get active TB disease. Your chance of it depends on your medical history. In some cases, the TB bacteria overcome your body’s immune system and multiply.

How do you test for TB if you have no symptoms?

Your doctor will take a sample of the mucus that comes up when you cough and test it for TB bacteria. If you have tuberculosis, you might have a latent TB infection or active TB disease. With a latent TB infection, you have the TB bacteria, but you don’t feel sick and you have no symptoms. You can’t spread TB to anyone else.

How long does it take for TB symptoms to go away?

It may be several weeks before you start to feel better. The exact length of time will depend on your overall health and the severity of your TB. After taking antibiotics for 2 weeks, most people are no longer infectious and feel better.

What happens if pulmonary tuberculosis is left untreated?

Pulmonary TB is curable with treatment, but if left untreated or not fully treated, the disease often causes life-threatening concerns. Untreated pulmonary TB disease can lead to long-term damage to these parts of the body: New drugs and treatments are currently being developed to prevent latent TB and TB, especially as MDR-TB grows.

Is there a way to detect TB too late?

Systematic screening has the potential to detected TB in people who would otherwise go undiagnosed or would be diagnosed too late. If done in the right way and targeting the right people, systematic screening can reduce suffering and deaths.

What happens if TB is undetected for too long?

Too many people have undetected TB for too long; late detection of TB increases their risk of transmitting the disease to others, having poor health outcomes, or that they and their family will suffer distress and economic hardship. Progress in controlling TB and mitigating its consequences can be expedited through early diagnosis and treatment.

Can a person with latent TB be sick?

People who are infected, but not sick, have what is called latent TB infection People who have latent TB infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms, and cannot spread TB to others. But some people with latent TB infection go on to get TB disease. There is good news. People with TB disease can be treated if they seek medical help.

Can a person with TB have no symptoms?

A person with latent, or inactive, TB will have no symptoms. You may still have a TB infection, but the bacteria in your body is not yet causing harm. Symptoms of active TB include: A cough that lasts more than three weeks