ID4U Episode 1 Tuberculosis Part 1

In Part 1, Dr. Jess Pelletier speaks with Dr. Moses Kitakule about tuberculosis: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis.

Take-Home Points:

• TB is a pathogen impacting only humans which infects about ⅓ of the globe
• Most cases of TB are latent and asymptomatic, but TB can reactivate at any time, particularly if a host becomes immunocompromised or highly exposed to TB
• Patients with active pulmonary TB may have fevers, night sweats, weight loss, cough lasting more than 3 weeks, hemoptysis, dyspnea, or fatigue, but older adults and those with immune compromise may be asymptomatic or present atypically
• Imaging abnormalities on chest x-ray, POCUS, or CT should be seen in active TB (but not always in immunocompromised hosts)
• Diagnostic testing in the ED should involve sending sputum AFB smear and culture, as well as a NAAT, which may help make the diagnosis more rapidly
• Miliary TB patients may need targeted testing of other body fluids
• Protecting staff and other patients is critical

You can view the full show notes and references here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xrs7Yy5bAtSp8F2Esale44DKY3gRkiVwQiioQjAoNHI/edit?usp=sharing

Image attribution: NIAID, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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