Lecture 54-Tuberculosis
Lecture 54-Tuberculosis
Lecture 54-Tuberculosis
Objectives
By the end of this lecture, students should know
the following about Tuberculosis:
Overview of Tuberculosis (TB) Epidemiology
Diagnosis of TB Disease
TB Infection Control
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Epidemiology:
• It is a worldwide disease
1) Crowding of living
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• 50%of active disease --- contagious (half of the 10% are contagious)
1. Infecting dose
2. Host factors
5-alcoholism
Nationality= People from regions with high rates of TB — especially Africa, Asia and Latin America, are more likely to
develop TB.
Sex= In most of the world, more men than women are infected with TB. Men are also more likely to die of the disease.
Race= In the United States, Hispanics, American Indians and blacks are at higher risk of TB than are whites. Asian-Americans
have the highest TB rate.
Age=Older adults are at greater risk of TB because normal aging or illness may weaken their immune systems. They're also
more likely to live in nursing homes, where mini-epidemics of TB can occur.
Substance abuse=Long-term drug or alcohol use weakens your immune system and makes you more vulnerable to TB.
Malnutrition= A poor diet or one too low in calories puts you at greater risk of TB.
Lack of medical care= If you are on a low or fixed income, live in a remote area, have recently immigrated to the United
States, or are homeless, you may lack access to the medical care you need diagnose and treat TB..
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• Transmission occurs when droplet nuclei inhaled and reach the alveoli of the
lungs, via nasal passages, respiratory tract, and bronchi
Note(s):
Mycobacterium TB can spread
through both blood and lymphatics.
Tuberculoma is accumulation of
granulomas in the body. It can be
central or peripheral.
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Pathogenesis:
• Droplet nuclei ---terminal air space
– Sub-pleural
– 75% Single
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As a person breathes in infected air, the bacilli go to the lungs through the bronchioles. At the
end of the bronchioles are alveoli, which are balloon-like sacs where blood takes oxygen from
inhaled air and releases carbon dioxide into the air exhaled.
TB bacilli infect the alveoli and the body immune system begins to fight them. Macrophages —
specialized white blood cells that ingest harmful organisms — begin to surround and "wall off"
the tuberculosis bacteria in the lungs, much like a scab forming over a wound.
Then, special immune system cells surround and separate the infected macrophages. The mass
resulting from the separated infected macrophages are hard, greyish nodules called tubercles.
Active TB spreads through the lymphatic system to other parts of the body. In these other parts,
the immune system kills bacilli, but immune cells and local tissue die as well. The dead cells form
masses called granulomas, where bacilli survive but don’t grow.
As more lung tissue is destroyed and granulomas expand, cavities develop in the lungs, which
causes more coughing and shortness of breath. Granulomas can also eat away blood vessels
which causes bleeding in the lungs, and bloody sputum.
Immunological Feature:
• TB require CMI (cell mediated immunity) for its control
•
• Ab antibody response is rich but has no role.
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Davidson Page.688:
- Mainly macrophages will undergo transformation into epitheliod and Langhans cells,
which aggregate with lymphocytes to form the classical tuberculous granuloma.
Microbiology:
• Organism:
1. Mycobacterium tuberculosis
2. Aerobic
3. Non-spore forming ,non-motile
4. Rod..: 2—5 mm long
5. Resistant to disinfectant
6. Once stained it resists de-colorization with acid and alcohol facultative
intracellular organism
• Human is the main reservoir of MTB
• Healthy person
1) Initial infection controlled by immune system
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Clinical Features:
• Pulmonary 80%
• Extra pulmonary 20%
• Pulmonary tuberculosis
o Primary: the lung is the 1st organ involved middle and lower lobe
-TB likes the apex (high Oxygenation), but if the CXR and clinical
presentation are suggestive of bases or middle lobe involvement
don’t rule out TB.
o Health: asymptomatic
o Heals spontaneously
o CXR normal
o Post primary (reactivation)
o Result from endogenous reactivation of latent infection and manifest
clinically:
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• Extra pulmonary
o Lymph node
o Pleural
o Bone and joint
o Meninges
o Peritonium
o Pericarditis and pericardial effusion
• Tuberculous lymphadenitis 25 % The commonest
• Localized painless swelling
• Common sites: cervical & supraclavicular
• Early: glands are discrete
• Late: glands are matted -/+ sinus
• Dx: FNA 30% in biopsy for histo and culture
– If lymph nodes were tender that means there is inflammation which is better
than non-tender lymph nodes.
– Initially lymph nodes are discrete then as disease progresses and caseation
increases they will become matted.
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– Best samples of lymph nodes are excisional so choose the largest one if
multiple lymph nodes were present and safest location (lymph node should
be 1 cm +).
– After Excision lymph nodes should be dipped in saline only and not formalin
because formalin may kill the organisms in tissue.
• Pleural Tb
• Result from penetration by few bacilli into the pleural space resulting into :
o pleural effusion and fever
o DX; aspirate --- exudate
o AFB rarely seen
o culture 30% positive
o BX 80% granuloma
• Skeletal Tb
• Source:
• Spinal Tb:
• Advance disease
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• Biopsy: histopath
• Tuberculous meningitis
• Source:
– Blood spread
• Symptoms:
– fever
– headache
• Dx; csf
TB & Aids:
Person with active TB are more frequent to have HIV than general population
AIDS in HAITIANS: almost all children are positive for PPD --- active TB in 60%
New York: 50% of active TB patients are HIV+
Africans: 60% of active TB patients are HIV+
TB can appear at any stage of HIV infection
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Early:
Late:
– sputum (-) in 40 %
– atypical CXR
– negative PPD
Latent TB Infection:
• Granulomas may persist (LTBI), or may break down to produce TB disease
• Persons with LTBI are not infectious and do not spread organisms to others
• In some, the granulomas break down, bacilli escape and multiply, resulting in
TB disease
• Persons with TB disease are usually infectious and can spread bacteria to
others
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Does not feel sick, but may become sick May feel sick and may have symptoms
if the bacteria become active in his/her such as a cough, fever, and/or weight loss
body
Usually has a TB skin test or TB blood Usually has a TB skin test or TB blood test
test reaction indicating TB infection reaction indicating TB infection
Sputum smears and cultures are Sputum smears and cultures may be
negative positive
Should consider treatment for LTBI to Needs treatment for TB disease
prevent TB disease
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Most Susceptible:
• People at higher risk of TB infection
o Close contacts with people with infectious TB
o People born in areas where TB is common
o People with poor access to health care
o People who inject illicit drugs
o People who live or work in residential facilities
o Health care professionals
o The elderly
o Persons who visit TB-Prevalent countries
o Smoking increases the risk of TB
o Cytotoxic medications, high doses of steroids and TNF therapy are
associated with TB
o Malignancies increases the risk ( Especially lymphomas and leukemias)
are associated with TB
o Recent measles in children is associated with the disease
o Vitamin D or A deficiency is associated with TB
o Chronic kidney disease is associated with TB
• People at higher risk of active TB disease
o People with weak immune systems (especially those with HIV or AIDS)
o People with diabetes or silicosis
o People infected within the last 2 years
o People with chest x-rays that show previous TB disease
o Illicit drug and alcohol abusers
• Check Davidson p.690 Box 19.52 for patient related factors and associated
factors.
Drug-Resistant TB:
o Caused by organisms resistant to one or more TB drugs
o Transmitted same way as drug-susceptible TB, and no more infectious
o Delay in detecting drug resistance may prolong period of infectiousness
because of delay in starting correct treatment
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Diagnosis:
Medical Evaluation for TB
Medical history
Physical examination
Chest radiograph
Bacteriologic examination
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• Medical History
• Symptoms of pulmonary TB:
o Prolonged cough (3 weeks or longer), hemoptysis
o Chest pain
o Loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss
o Night sweats, fever
o Fatigue
– Sputum for:
• Zn stain
• Culture definite
diagnosis
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AFB Smear
AFB (shown in red) are tubercle bacilli
• Culture
o Remains gold standard for confirming diagnosis of TB
o Culture all specimens, even if smear or NAA negative
o Results in 4–14 days when liquid medium systems used
o Culture monthly until conversion, i.e., 2 consecutive negative cultures
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Diagnosis (cont.):
• PPD intradermal
• 5 unit in o.1 ml
• 10 mm: 90 % infected
• More than 15 mm: 100% infected
• BCG and positive PPD:
• Unless very recent: positive PPD of more than 10mm should not be due to
BCG
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Diagnosis (cont.):
• False negative TST:
• 20 % of active disease
• Malnutrition
• Sarcoid
• Lymphoproliferative dis.(lymphoma)
• Viral infection
• Steroid
• PPD: is of limited value because of
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• Nontuberculous mycobacteria
• BCG vaccination
False-positive
• Problems with TST administration
• Anergy
• Viral, bacterial, fungal coinfection
• Recent TB infection
• Very young age; advanced age
• Live-virus vaccination
• Overwhelming TB disease
False-negative
• Renal failure/disease
• Lymphoid disease
• Low protein states
• Immunosuppressive drugs
• Problems with TST administration
BCG Vaccination:
Vaccine made from live, attenuated (weakened) strain of M. bovis
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BCG Contraindications :
Contraindicated in persons with impaired immune response from
Alkylating agents
Antimetabolites
Radiation therapy
Generally should not be used to test children <5 years of age, unless used in
conjunction with TS
Diagnosis (cont.):
• Symptoms of possible extrapulmonary TB:
o Blood in the urine (TB of the kidney)
o Headache/confusion (TB meningitis)
o Back pain (TB of the spine)
o Hoarseness (TB of the larynx)
o Loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss
o Night sweats, fever
o Fatigue
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Treatment:
Treatment for Latent TB Infection (LTBI)
Use targeted testing to find persons at high risk for TB who would benefit
from LTBI treatment
High-risk persons with positive IGRA test or TST reaction of ≥10 mm (cont.):
Silicosis
Diabetes mellitus
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Never treat with a single drug or add single drug to failing regimen
2- Second line medications are more expensive and with more side effects
For example, Cycloserine can cause psychiatric complications.
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Treatment (cont.):
• Chemotherapy: cure
• Isonised
• Rifampicin
• Pyrazinamide
• Ethambutol/streotomycin
Initial phase
• Drug failure
– Inappropriate drug
– Drug resistance
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Infection Control:
• Active pulmonary tuberculosis:
o Isolation of the patient (2wks)
o Isolation room should be negative pressure
o Patient remain until 3 negative smears and there is clinical
improvement
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SUMMARY
1. Bacterial infection.
2. Caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
3. Spreads through the air when a person with active TB: Coughs/ Speaks/ Laughs/
Sneezes/ Sings.
4. Culture is the gold standard for diagnosing TB
5. Anti TB drugs include: Isoniazid (INH) Rifampin (RIF) Pyrazinamide (PZA)
Ethambutol (EMB) Rifapentine (RPT).
6. Remember that TB pleura is not the same as Pulmonary TB.
7. TB likes bone mainly vertebrae, so if vertebral bone was involved biopsy must be
taken.
8. You still have to treat the patient if the clinical presentation was highly
suggestive of TB but all results are negative. ( The patient could be HIV positive)
9. Sinus of infected lymph nodes can occur in TB and with actinomycosis as well.
10. Most common cause of false negative PPD test is wrong technique, usually it’s
painful and no blood should come out.
11. BCG vaccine is live attenuated and should not be given to any immune-
compromised patient.
12. BCG is not for life.
13. Start treating the patient empirically when stain is positive and don’t wait until
culture comes out.
14. In pulmonary TB or Pleura TB you have to treat the patient promptly but in
lymphadenitis TB you don’t need to because it’s not an emergency.
15. INH is used in prophylaxis.
16. Most important initial step is direct microscopy of sputum. If a patient had a dry
cough sputum induction will be done by giving the patient hypertonic saline to
inhale in order to get mucus out of his lungs.
17. If a patient was positive for both TB and HIV give anti-TB medications first then
anti-HIV to prevent reduction of immunity and to enhance treatment effect.
18. Typical regimen is for 6 months but may extend to 12 months in meningeal or
spinal TB.
19. All types of TB have the same treatment regimen but the duration of treatment
depends on the site of infection.
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Questions
1) A 23-year-old man presented with a 4-week history of coughing,
breathlessness and malaise. He had lost 4kg in weight, but had no
history of night sweats or hemoptysis. He had returned from holiday in
Pakistan 2 months earlier. On examination, he had mild pyrexia (37.8°C)
but had no evidence of anemia or clubbing. Crepitations were audible
over the lung apices; there were no other physical signs. His hemoglobin
and white cell count were normal but the CRP was 231 mg/l. The chest
X-ray showed bilateral upper- and middle-lobe shadowing but no hilar
enlargement. Sputum was found to contain acid-fast bacilli and
Mycobacterium tuberculosis was subsequently cultured. A Mantoux
test was strongly positive..
What is your diagnosis?
a. CHF
b. Pneumoconiosis
c. pneumothorax
d. TB
2) Initially you should treat the patient with INH, RIF, PZA, EMB daily for a
period of?
a. 1 year
b. 1 weak
c. 8 weeks
d. 7 days
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1st Question: D
2nd Question: C
3rd Question: D
4th Question: C
5th Question: D
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