Kurnool: Tuberculosis incidence in Kurnool district is on the rise as outpatients footfalls at Kurnool General Hospital keep an uptick with an average of 200 patients per month with an upward bias, said Prof Prabhakar Reddy of Kurnool Medical College. He said all cough producing lesions are not TB, and all shadows in X-rays are not lung cancers and added that majority of patients were wrongly diagnosed.
Citing a recent case study, he said that a patient with lesion bronchogenic cyst was misdiagnosed as TB and Abscess treated elsewhere.
He said that the right superior aspect of upperlobe lung between trachea and esophagus amidst Azygos vein contains clear fluid having a bronchus but not communicated with trachea. He advised patients not to panic if they see shadow in chest X-ray as it need not be TB trace.
Wrong diagnosis of TB causes a lot of problem in curing the patients who lose time by wrong course of drug administration which adds to the multiple combinations of drug resistance, he said. It all takes nine months of strict drug regimen to cure a person of TB but golden time is being frittered away by the dubious diagnostic practices, Reddy said.
“First, the use of inaccurate diagnostic tests delay the diagnosis of TB, permitting ongoing transmission. Second, a general lack of treatment support by private doctors which means that many TB patients do not complete the standard TB regimen,” he added.
HIV prevalence among incident TB patients is estimated to be 2 per cent. HIV associated TB patients are emerging gradually in Kurnool. Though I cannot put a number to it, but the incident of HIV-TB duo is progressing significantly, Reddy said.
Prabhakar Reddy suggested that successful treatment and care can only result when patient preferences, values and needs are satisfactorily addressed.
These include ensuring that the diagnosis of DR-TB is early, accurate and affordable and the most effective treatment is delivered early and provided in a manner that is easily accessible to and suits the patient.
