Question

• Describe the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, evaluation, and treatment of tuberculosis or pneumonia.

Answer 1

TUBERCULOSIS

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects mainly lungs and is caused by a bacterium , Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacteria spread from on person to another through air droplets by cough,sneeze, spits, laugh etc of infected person.

Pathophysiology

Tuberculosis is spread by Mycobacterium tuberculosis through air droplets. This bacteria causes primary infection.This stage is mostly asymptomatic and cause a latent phase, after which it reactivate symptoms.and manifest as active infections.

Small infection particles are inhaled, travel through respiratory tract and get deposited deep in lung. This bacteria will then replicate and spread through blood to other areas. Then in latent phase signs and symptoms are shown. Reactivation of infection may occur in people after some months or years generally in organs initially seeded by bacteria.

Clinical Manifestations

• Classic symptoms if active TB are chronic cough with blood staining mucus, fever, night sweats, weight loss.
• cough is most common. initially it may be yellow sputum, later on become more productive.
• it mainly affects lungs. Extrapulmonary TB occurs when it affects organs other than lungs, sometimes it coexist with pulmonary TB.
• losslof appetite , fatigue ,dyspnea.
• extrapulmonary TB mainly affects sites like pleura, CNS, genitourinary systems, bones and joints.
• gastrointestinal symptoms
• chest pain

Diagnosis

• signs and symptoms analysis along with other laboratory techniques.
• chest Xray
• sputum culture
• nucleic acid amplification tests
• adenosine deaminade test
• Mantoux tuberculin skin test

Treatments

• antibiotics
• isoniazid drug alone or with rifampicin or rifapentine.
• Directly observed Therapy in which health care observe patient during treatment about his medication and its Intake.
• symptomatic treatment