Tuberculosis: Treatments and Prevention

Tuberculosis
▼Tuberculosis: Treatments and PreventionWritten by James McIntoshReviewed by Dr Helen WebberleyLast updated: Tue 17 Nov 2015 email
3.5
472SHARE
49
(Continued from page 1...)

Diagnosis of tuberculosis
To check for TB, a health care provider will use a stethoscope to listen to the lungs and will check for swelling in the lymph nodes. They will also ask about symptoms and medical history as well as assessing a person's risk of exposure to TB.

The most common diagnostic test for TB is a skin test where a small injection of PPD tuberculin, an extract of the TB bacterium, is made just below the inside forearm.

The injection site should be checked after 2-3 days, and if a hard, red bump has swollen up then it is likely that TB is present.

TB is most commonly diagnosed via a skin test involving an injection into the forearm.
Unfortunately, the skin test is not 100% accurate and has been known to give incorrect positive and negative readings.

However, there are other tests that are available to diagnose TB. Blood tests, chest X-rays and sputum tests can all be used to test for the presence of TB bacteria, and may be used alongside a skin test.

MDR-TB is more difficult to diagnose than regular TB. It is also difficult to diagnose regular TB in children.5

Treatments for tuberculosis
The majority of TB cases can be cured when the right medication is available and administered correctly.

The precise type and length of antibiotic treatment depends on a person's age, overall health, potential resistance to drugs, whether the TB is latent or active, and the location of infection (i.e. the lungs, brain, kidneys).

People with latent TB may need just one kind of TB antibiotics, whereas people with active TB (particularly MDR-TB) will often require a prescription of multiple drugs.

Antibiotics are usually required to be taken for a relatively long time. The standard length of time for a course of TB antibiotics is about 6 months.

All TB medication is toxic to the liver, and although side effects are uncommon, when they do occur, they can be quite serious. Potential side effects should be reported to a health care provider and include:

Dark urine
Fever
Jaundice
Loss of appetite
Nausea and vomiting.

It is important for any course of treatment to be completed fully, even if the TB symptoms have gone away. Any bacteria that have survived the treatment could become resistant to the medication that has been prescribed, and could lead to developing MDR-TB in the future.

Directly observed therapy (DOT) can be recommended. It involves a health care worker administering the TB medication to ensure that the course of treatment is completed.

Prevention of tuberculosis11

If you have active TB, a face mask can help lower the risk of the disease spreading to other people.
A few general measures can be taken to prevent the spread of active TB. Avoiding other people by not going to school or work, or sleeping in the same room as someone, will help to minimize the risk of germs from reaching anyone else. Wearing a mask, covering the mouth and ventilating rooms can also limit the spread of bacteria.

In some countries, BCG injections are given to children in order to vaccinate them against tuberculosis. It is not recommended for general use in the US because it is not effective in adults, and it can adversely influence the results of skin testing diagnoses.

The most important thing to do is to finish entire courses of medication when they are prescribed. MDR-TB bacteria are far deadlier than regular TB bacteria. Some cases of MDR-TB require extensive courses of chemotherapy, which can be expensive and cause severe adverse drug reactions in patients.