[10] Tuberculosis Flashcards
What is tuberculosis?
An infectious disease
What organism causes TB?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
What kind of bacterial species is M. TB?
An obligate pathogenic bacterial species
What covers the surface of M. TB?
A waxy coating
What is the waxy coating of M. TB due to?
The presence of mycolic acid
What is the clinical relevance of the waxy coating of M. TB?
It makes it impervious to gram-staining, so acid-fast stains such as Ziehl-Neelson must be used to visualise it under the microscope
Is M. TB anerobic or anaerobic?
Highly aerobic, requires high levels of oxygen
Where does TB affect?
Generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body, including abdomen, bones, and nervous system
What is latent TB?
TB infection without symptoms
Most infections of TB are latent
What % of latent TB infections progress to active disease?
About 10%
What is the mortality of untreated active TB?
50%
How is TB spread from person to person?
Aerosol route
What is the result of TB being spread by the aerosol route?
The lungs are the first site of infection
What happens to most new infections of TB?
They resolve with local scarring
What is it called when TB resolves with local scarring?
Primary TB
What is post-primary T?
The development of infection beyond the first few weeks
What is it called when TB infection spreads throughout the body?
Miliary spread
Give an example of a localised infection that TB can develop into?
Meningitis
What happens to M. TB in the body?
It is ingested by macrophages
What happens once M. TB has been ingested by macrophages?
It escapes from the phagolysosome to multiply in the cytoplasm. At the same time, it provokes an immune response
What is the result of the immune response is provoked by M. TB?
It stimulates the release of IL-12, which in turn drives the release of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha from NK and CD4 cells
What do the cytokines activated by the immune response stimulated by M. TB do?
They activate and recruit more macrophages to the site of the infection
What is the result of the recruitment of macrophages to the site of TB infection?
Formation of granulomas
What does the intense immune reaction stimulated by TB cause?
- Cavitation in the lungs
- Cytokine-mediated systemic effects, including fever and weight loss
What groups are at high risk of TB?
- HIV
- Silicosis
- Malnutrition
- People who live in overcrowded areas, e.g. prisons, homeless shelters
- IV drug abusers
- People with chronic lung disease
- Those of Asian ethnicity
- People with diabetes
- People on corticosteroids or infliximab
By how much does HIV increase the risk of TB?
20-37x
What is the importance of TB in HIV patients?
TB is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in HIV patients
Describe the symptoms in primary TB?
There are few symptoms, but lymph nodes may become enlarged in young people
What are the symptoms of secondary TB?
- Fever
- Chills
- Night sweats
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
When do you get the fever in secondary TB?
Generally towards the of the day, or at night
How is TB investigated?
- History and examination
- Chest x-ray
- Microbiology, e.g sputum sample
- Nucleic acid amplification testing
- Mantoux tuberculin skin test
What are the examination signs of TB?
- Pallor
- Pyrexia
- Clubbing
- Palpable lymph nodes