Clinical Diagnosis
Clinical diagnosis of TB involves a careful and extensive history-taking, which includes asking the patient questions relative to symptoms suggestive of TB disease:
· Prolonged fever, cough (with or without haemoptysis),
· Anorexia,
· Weight loss
· Haemoptysis – Cough out blood (once or recurrent)
· Cough (dry/productive sputum)
· Fatigue
· Night sweats
Laboratory diagnosis
· Early identification of TB cases and putting them on effective treatment is important in TB care and control.
· Diagnosis of PTB depends on the identification of tubercle bacilli either by sputum smear microscopy or culture and identification of bacterial DNA using molecular techniques
· There are two common methods for the detection of AFB in clinical specimens:
o The Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) technique using bright field microscopes, and
o The Auramine O technique using light-emitting diode fluorescence microscope (LED FM)
· Chest x-ray may be very useful as a screening tool for PTB.
References
Wells BG, DiPiro J, Schwinghammer T (2013), Pharmacotherapy Handbook (6th Ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
DiPiro JT, Talbert RL, Yee GC, Matzke GR, Wells BG, Posey ML, (2008): Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach (7th ed): New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Katz M D., Matthias KR., Chisholm-Burns M A., Pharmacotherapy(2011) Principles & Practice Study Guide: A Case-Based Care Plan Approach: New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Schwinghammer TL, Koehler JM (2009) Pharmacotherapy Casebook: A Patient-Focused Approach (7th ed): New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.