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Effective TB treatment is difficult, due to the unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, which hinders the entry of drugs and makes many antibiotics ineffective. [137] Active TB is best treated with combinations of several antibiotics to reduce the risk of the bacteria developing antibiotic resistance. [14]
A patient is expected to be free from all living TB bacteria after six months of therapy in Pulmonary TB or 8-10 months in Miliary TB. [citation needed] Latent tuberculosis or latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is treated with three to nine months of isoniazid alone. This long-term treatment often risks the development of hepatotoxicity. A ...
Other parts of the medical history include prior TB exposure, infection or disease and medical conditions that increase risk for TB disease such as HIV infection. Depending on the sort of patient population surveyed, as few as 20%, or as many as 75% of pulmonary tuberculosis cases may be without symptoms. [2]
[2] [3] Cigarette smokers are 25% more likely to have lung damage, and more severe damage, after cure of a TB infection. [5] People who cook with 3-4 stoves instead of 1-2 stoves are more likely to have lung damage. A lack of heating also increased how often symptoms occurred. Alcoholism also increased the risk of PTLD. Ambient air pollution ...
After exposure, it usually takes 8 to 10 weeks before the TB test would show if someone had become infected." [ 5 ] Depending on ventilation and other factors, these tiny droplets [from the person who has active tuberculosis] can remain suspended in the air for several hours.
Treatment of latent TB infection typically involves using a single drug for a prolonged period of time—the most common approach is Isoniazid for 9 months. Treatment of active TB disease is typically a combination of antibiotics, which results in patients being non-infectious to others usually within a few weeks.
[2] [3] However, beginning with the first antibiotic treatment for TB in 1943, some strains of the TB bacteria developed resistance to the standard drugs through genetic changes (see mechanisms.) [2] [4] [5] Currently the majority of multidrug-resistant cases of TB are due to one strain of TB bacteria called the Beijing lineage.
If there is any question of active TB, sputum smears must be obtained. Therefore, any applicant might have findings grouped in this category, but still have active TB as suggested by the presence of signs or symptoms of TB, or sputum smears positive for AFB. [2] The main chest X-ray findings that can suggest inactive TB are: [2] 1.