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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Could Cause TB?

I am in the US, but my friend lives in Rishikesh and she was diagnosed with TB. She was told she has a closed TB and nothing can be seen on the x-ray. She is now on her 3rd month of medication and was told to take it for a total of 10 months. I am very concerned about her and have several questions.
posted on Thu, 13 Mar 2014
Twitter Thu, 24 Aug 2017 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 24 Aug 2017 Last reviewed on
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Pulmonologist,  's  Response
Hello ! Can you please mention in which organ in the body your friend was diagnosed to have TB ? Coz TB can affect any organ n from head to toe . Since u mentioned X ray , I presume you might be speaking about Pulmonary TB . For diagnosing pulmonary TB clinical (patient's presentation symptoms and signs), radiological (Chest x ray, high resolution CT appearance), microbiological (sputum AFB, sputum CBNAAT testing ) findings need to be correlated. The common symptoms suggestive of TB are cough for more than 2 weeks duration not subsiding with routine antibiotics, fever with evening rise in temperature , bloody sputum (henoptysis), loss of appetite n loss of weight. Did your friend have any of these symptoms ? If yes then definitely investigations to rule out or rule in TB have to be proceeded with . Also two things need to be kept in mind. One , not always chest x ray show some abnormality in TB. If there is minimal lesion then only a HRCT chest can pick it up and it can be missed on chest x ray. Two, Since TB is common in India, at times , other diseases are wrongly diagnosed to be TB . Hence it s essential that you get the consultation with a qualified physician to ensure that diagnosis is correctly arrived at. As far as the treatment for TB is concerned , if this is the first time your friend is taking anti- TB medications then he/she has to take it for 6 months. If this is second time then the course will be for 8 months
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What Could Cause TB?

Hello ! Can you please mention in which organ in the body your friend was diagnosed to have TB ? Coz TB can affect any organ n from head to toe . Since u mentioned X ray , I presume you might be speaking about Pulmonary TB . For diagnosing pulmonary TB clinical (patient s presentation symptoms and signs), radiological (Chest x ray, high resolution CT appearance), microbiological (sputum AFB, sputum CBNAAT testing ) findings need to be correlated. The common symptoms suggestive of TB are cough for more than 2 weeks duration not subsiding with routine antibiotics, fever with evening rise in temperature , bloody sputum (henoptysis), loss of appetite n loss of weight. Did your friend have any of these symptoms ? If yes then definitely investigations to rule out or rule in TB have to be proceeded with . Also two things need to be kept in mind. One , not always chest x ray show some abnormality in TB. If there is minimal lesion then only a HRCT chest can pick it up and it can be missed on chest x ray. Two, Since TB is common in India, at times , other diseases are wrongly diagnosed to be TB . Hence it s essential that you get the consultation with a qualified physician to ensure that diagnosis is correctly arrived at. As far as the treatment for TB is concerned , if this is the first time your friend is taking anti- TB medications then he/she has to take it for 6 months. If this is second time then the course will be for 8 months