A diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is confirmed through a combination of medical evaluation, laboratory testing, and imaging. This typically involves:
- Medical history: A detailed assessment of symptoms like persistent cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and chest pain.
- Physical examination: Assessing for signs like fever, rapid breathing, and abnormal lung sounds.
- Chest X-ray: Identifying characteristic lung abnormalities associated with TB infection.
- Laboratory tests:
- Sputum smear microscopy: Examining sputum for TB bacteria.
- TB culture: Growing TB bacteria in a lab to confirm infection.
- TB blood tests (Interferon Gamma Release Assays [IGRAs]): Detecting the presence of TB antibodies.
- TB skin test (Mantoux test): Injecting a small amount of tuberculin under the skin to assess for a delayed hypersensitivity reaction.
While a positive TB blood test or TB skin test can indicate a latent TB infection, additional tests are required to diagnose active TB disease. A medical evaluation and further tests, such as a chest X-ray and sputum culture, are needed to distinguish between latent TB infection and active TB disease.
