Tuberculosis (TB) is confirmed through a combination of medical history, physical examination, imaging tests, and laboratory tests.
- Medical History: A thorough medical history is taken to understand the patient's symptoms, travel history, potential exposure to TB, and any previous TB diagnoses or treatment.
- Physical Examination: A physical examination may reveal signs of TB, such as coughing, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and swollen lymph nodes.
- Chest X-Ray: A chest x-ray is used to detect any abnormalities in the lungs, such as lesions or infiltrates, which are characteristic of TB.
- Laboratory Tests: Several laboratory tests can help confirm a TB diagnosis, including:
- Sputum Culture: This is the gold standard for diagnosing TB, as it involves culturing the bacteria from the patient's sputum sample.
- TB Blood Test: This test measures the immune system's response to the bacteria that cause TB.
- TB Skin Test: This test involves injecting a small amount of TB protein under the skin. A positive test indicates that the person has been exposed to TB bacteria, but it does not necessarily mean they have active TB disease.
- Other Laboratory Tests: These may include blood tests to evaluate overall health and other tests to rule out other infections.
It's important to note that a positive TB blood test or skin test alone does not confirm a diagnosis of active TB disease. Further tests and evaluations are needed to determine if the infection is active or latent.
