How to test for tuberculosis at home and in the hospital. How to check for tuberculosis: tests and hardware examination How to check for tuberculosis at home

A person can be a carrier of the causative agent of tuberculosis for years and be unaware of the presence of an infection. In some cases, the symptoms of the disease appear similar to the common cold. Therefore, in the early stages it is quite difficult to detect the presence of an ailment. In this material, we will try to find out how tuberculosis is determined, what methods of treatment should be resorted to to eliminate the problem.

What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is an acute infectious disease caused by microscopic bacteria known as Koch's rods. The disease develops with a decrease in immunity, as a result of damage

Tuberculosis bacteria are most often transmitted from the carrier of the disease to a healthy person by airborne droplets, which leads to the deposition of the causative agent of tuberculosis in the lungs. Infection can also occur through household contact with bacteria, when the latter enter directly into the digestive tract.

The probability of infection is only 5% for a healthy person with good immunity. People with a weakened body are much more likely to become infected.

The risk group is young children and adolescents. Women under 35 years of age are much more likely to become infected with the causative agent of tuberculosis compared to young men.

Factors that contribute to the development of the disease

Among the risk factors it is worth noting:

1. Prolonged contact with objects on which the causative agent of the disease is located.
2. Frequent contact with a carrier of the disease.
3. Regular exposure to a dirty, unventilated, enclosed space.
4. Decrease in the protective functions of the body as a result of poor nutrition, constant stress, alcohol abuse and smoking, excessive physical exertion.

Signs of the development of the disease in the early stages

How to determine tuberculosis at home? If the disease proceeds in a latent form, it is extremely difficult to identify it in advance, since the course of the disease occurs without obvious signs. If you feel that something is wrong in the body, you should pay attention to the presence of the following symptoms:

• a strong feeling of fatigue without objective reasons;
• feeling of general physical or mental malaise;
• the presence of a weak appetite;
• a sharp weight loss with a plentiful, healthy diet;
• slight increase in body temperature.

Microscopic diagnostics

How to identify tuberculosis at an early stage? If the above symptoms are detected, it is worth contacting the hospital for taking a sputum smear. The composition of the obtained sample is examined under a microscope in the laboratory.

It is worth noting that negative test results do not always indicate the absence of an ailment. Quite often, the development of the disease at an early stage does not allow detecting microscopic bacteria in a sputum smear from the lungs. It is for this reason that in the presence of obvious ones, it is important to repeat the study after some time has passed.

Fluorography

How is tuberculosis defined? In the initial phase, a chest x-ray helps to identify the disease. In terms of prevention, experts recommend resorting to the procedure once a year. The resulting image allows you to see the foci of inflammation, to notice the first signs of bacterial damage to the lung tissue.

Sputum culture

The diagnostic method involves taking a sputum sample and then growing a culture of bacteria in the laboratory. How is tuberculosis determined by this method? Such an analysis can take several months, because during the tests, experts check the sensitivity of microorganisms in crops to the effects of various antibiotics. However, the study allows to identify the causative agent of the disease with high accuracy.

Sputum culture is also a good way to determine the resistance of a certain variety of Koch's bacillus to the effects of certain drugs. At the moment, there are no alternative research methods that would allow obtaining this information.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis

If the infection of the body with the causative agent of the disease did not occur through airborne transmission of the infection, the development of an extrapulmonary form of tuberculosis is likely. In this case, the infection of the mucous membrane of the eyes, joints and bones, the gastrointestinal tract, the meninges, the central nervous system, and the urogenital area may occur.

How are shapes defined? The first signs of the development of such a disease are:

• sleep disturbance, general irritability as a result of exposure to the pathogen on the central nervous system;
• increased sweating due to mass tissue intoxication with pathogenic bacteria;
• unhealthy pallor, the manifestation of an uneven blush;
• a decrease in the level of leukocytes and erythrocytes in the blood, which is accompanied by the development of conditions characteristic of anemia.

How to determine tuberculosis in a child?

Detection of the disease in the early stages in children is part of the mandatory preventive program in educational institutions aimed at preventing epidemics. The main goal here is the identification of children who are at high risk. These categories include:

1. Children who have relatives, family, apartment contacts with infected people.
2. Infected, which has more than 6 mm in diameter.
3. Children who suffer from non-specific, chronic respiratory diseases.
4. HIV-infected.
5. Children who have not been vaccinated with BCG at an early age.

How to identify a child with tuberculosis? For this. in addition to hyperergic injection tests, fluorography methods are used from the age of 15. If there are obvious symptoms of the disease, sputum is cultured.

Finally

The initial stage of the development of tuberculosis is not easy due to the nature of the course of the disease. Symptoms of the disease can easily be confused with the symptoms of a common cold or flu. To avoid damage to the body by the causative agent of tuberculosis, do not forget about the factors that can lead to infection. It is necessary in terms of prevention to periodically resort to diagnostic procedures.

Collapse

It is quite difficult to determine such a disease with some accuracy, and the patient cannot make a diagnosis on his own. First of all, because tuberculosis can have many forms of course and characteristics. Moreover, it can even affect different organs, and not just the lungs, as is commonly believed. In addition, this condition is quite difficult to distinguish from many other diseases, for example, from the same pneumonia, which is much more common.

However, the observation of the characteristic symptoms of this disease, described below, should be a reason for the patient to immediately visit a medical facility. After all, if tuberculosis really manifested itself, even a minimal delay can seriously affect health.

Early symptoms

How to determine tuberculosis at home? Early symptoms play a major role in diagnosing this condition. Late symptoms are often already very pronounced and by the time they appear, the patient has already begun treatment one way or another and consulted a doctor. In the early stages, the symptoms are unexpressed and therefore it is quite difficult to recognize it in a timely manner. But it is at this stage that the disease is treated most successfully.

Tuberculous bronchoadenitis

A fairly common form of the disease. It occurs almost as often as a lung lesion. In fact, it has a lot in common with him. The symptomatology is almost completely similar, although the pathology itself affects only the roots of the organ. In children, there are usually no symptoms at all, subfebrile temperature is rarely observed, sometimes rising.

There is no cough. It manifests itself only when, as a result of an increase in the lymph nodes, the bronchi are compressed. Even as a result of full recovery, the patient for a certain period belongs to the group of increased likelihood of infection, because it may undergo a re-development of the disease. Or tuberculosis can occur in a different form.

Tuberculosis of the brain

Tuberculosis of the meninges develops rapidly and always has an acute course. The disease gives pronounced symptoms already at the initial stage, both in children and adults. It develops most often not independently, but as a complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. Has the following symptoms:

1. Headache;
2. Dizziness;
3. Vomit;
4. neurological disorders;
5. Nausea;
6. High body temperature.

Another type of tuberculous brain injury is tuberculous meningitis. It develops in children on its own or as a complication after the pulmonary form. At the initial stage, it manifests itself in the form of malaise, constipation, sleep disturbance, irritability. Then nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle hypertonicity develop.

Using Rapid Tests

Pharmacies sell various rapid tests for tuberculosis, which help determine the presence of the pathogen in the body. They are not very precise, but can be used to get an approximate result.

Other diagnostic methods

How to get tested for tuberculosis? The following methods are used:

1. Tuberculin tests (Mantoux, Diaskintest, etc.);
2. Radiography is the main method showing foci of tuberculosis in the lungs;
3. Blood test, urinalysis;
4. PCR and bacteriological studies of body fluids.

Based on these data, it can be concluded that there is a bacterium that causes tuberculosis in the body.

Conclusion

But it is important to understand that there can be no accurate diagnosis of this disease outside a medical institution. If you notice similar symptoms in yourself, do not panic - they do not necessarily indicate tuberculosis. But it is still necessary to immediately consult with a specialist.

Tuberculosis is considered a hidden disease. It is this factor that makes it especially dangerous for humans. Pathological disorders can affect patients of any age and gender. Timely diagnosis of tuberculosis is especially important. How to determine tuberculosis, we will consider in this article.

Indications for diagnostics

A particular danger of pathology lies in the fact that in the early stages of its development it does not show any signs of being present in the body. Despite the fact that symptomatic manifestations are not clearly expressed, the progression of the pathological process is actively carried out. How to detect tuberculosis? How to understand if a person has tuberculosis or not?

The first thing to do is evaluate the symptoms that appear:

• dry cough that has a long effect;
• in the process of expectoration, the release of sputum masses is not excluded;
• the presence of wheezing;
• stable increase in body temperature;
• pallor of the skin of the face and a tired appearance of the patient;
• loss of appetite and, as a result, weight loss of the patient;
• shortness of breath with accompanying pain manifestations in the side;
• excessive sweating.

Testing for tuberculosis in women is necessary after detecting menstrual irregularities, persistent headaches, diagnosing inflammatory processes in the bladder (cystitis) and the presence of bloody inclusions in the urine.

How to get tested for tuberculosis? Carrying out diagnostic measures requires new capabilities so that a complete and general examination for tuberculosis of a patient can be carried out. This is especially true for people belonging to the so-called risk group. Patients with a predisposition to tuberculosis disease include patients with a confirmed diagnosis of AIDS and HIV, people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction, those who have consistently high blood sugar levels, and bronchial asthma. No less important is the hereditary predisposition of a person.

It is important to conduct a survey of newborn patients, provided that the mother is infected, as well as elderly people. How to detect tuberculosis? Currently, another category of patients is known - prisoners. They often become carriers of this disease. Disease detection activities will help prevent infection of healthy people after the patient is released.

Varieties of diagnostic measures

Laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis implies the obligatory implementation of all instructions of the attending physician. The beginning of diagnostic studies consists in examining the patient and identifying the symptoms that manifest. After the appearance of assumptions about the presence of tuberculosis in a patient, he is sent for a follow-up examination, which can subsequently make it possible to make a reliable conclusion.

There is a so-called special survey. Early diagnosis of tuberculosis in adults implies the mandatory passage of x-rays. On the obtained images, it is possible to identify foci of tuberculous pathology in the lung area. If such violations are detected, the patient is sent for additional measures that contribute to the identification of the form of the disease.

Diagnosis of tuberculosis in children involves taking a Mantoux test. Depending on the reaction received, a subsequent detection of tuberculosis is carried out and a final diagnosis is made. It should be noted that this method is not the most reliable, as the results may be false. That is why, if there is a suspicion of the presence of an infection in the body of a child, the reaction is repeated. If an infection is detected, the patient is sent for further diagnosis. Radiation diagnosis of tuberculosis is especially relevant in this matter.

All of the above methods are considered intermediate, but they make it possible to draw certain conclusions regarding the disease. To make a final conclusion, additional studies are required, the so-called differential diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Let's consider the most common of them.

1. Radiography. X-ray diagnostics of tuberculosis is read as the most reliable method for detecting a pathological process. With a positive diagnosis, dark seals will be detected on the image. In this situation, it is important to pay special attention to their number, size, shape, contour and location on the area of ​​​​the internal organ. Among the degrees of damage, the following are revealed:

• minimal - characterized by minor affected areas, signs of decay are not observed;
• moderately pronounced - minimal changes are possible, the volume of which does not exceed the size of one lung;
• expressed - the volume of the lesion is significant.

Regardless of the nature of the changes presented in the picture, the patient is referred for subsequent methods for detecting tuberculosis.

1. Mantoux test. The method is most suitable for pediatric patients. The procedure involves the introduction of antigens of the causative agent of tuberculosis under the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe skin (obtained as a result of the destruction of Koch's sticks). After that, a reaction is provoked in the body in the presence of Koch's sticks in the body. In this case, the puncture site swells significantly, has a red tint, and signs of an inflammatory process appear. There is also a Pirque test. It is an application to the skin of tuberculin. Due to the presence of an increased allergenicity in a substance, the body gives an appropriate reaction.

The Mantoux test has a number of contraindications. This is especially true for patients diagnosed with skin diseases, since the reaction can provoke a deterioration and exacerbation of the pathological process. In addition, it is forbidden to carry out the procedure if a patient has a feverish condition, allergic reactions of the body and epilepsy.

1. Sputum examination. Material for further study is released in the process of coughing. In the process of sampling, certain rules must be followed. First of all, the material must be collected in a special sterile container. Immediately before sampling, the patient must rinse the mouth with warm water, brush his teeth to exclude the possibility of food elements entering the analysis. The procedure is carried out in the morning and on an empty stomach, since during this period the accumulation of sputum will be maximum.

The very procedure of study at the initial stage is a consideration of the appearance. In the presence of tuberculosis, it may contain blood streaks. The material is then examined under a microscope. The biological method of study is often used, which is characterized by the process of infection of animals (mainly guinea pigs).

1. Bronchoscopy for pulmonary tuberculosis is used when it is not possible to collect material for research on your own. For the procedure, a special device is used that enters the bronchial region through the nasal or oral cavity. Before the procedure, if necessary, the patient may be prescribed a sedative medication.
2. Blood study. With a positive diagnosis, when studying blood cells, anemia is detected, in the process of exacerbation of the pathology, the level of ESR increases. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of leukocytes due to the breakdown of lung tissue. It is important to carry out the diagnosis of tuberculosis in a complex, since a change in the parameters of urine characteristics may not always indicate the presence of tuberculosis in a patient.
3. Urine study. The use of microbiological diagnosis of tuberculosis is carried out to establish a complete diagnostic picture. In addition, this method makes it possible to establish the presence of serious complications.

There are modern methods for diagnosing tuberculosis. Relatively recently, another method for determining tuberculosis was revealed. It has the name Diaskintest. The system helps not only to detect the presence of infection in the body, but also to determine the effectiveness of the therapy used. Of particular paramount importance is the immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis.

In severe forms of the disease, an anti-tuberculosis technique called valvular bronchoblocking is used. It involves the installation of a valve through the use of anesthesia. The reliability of fastening is checked by coughing the patient. The removal process is carried out in a similar way.

Another method of diagnosis is fibrobronchoscopy. The method is considered sparing and is better tolerated by patients. The system makes it possible not only to study the condition of the bronchi, but also to save the information obtained during the study on a digital medium. The procedure is performed on an empty stomach, the patient is located on the surface of the couch in the supine position. The study process allows the collection of bronchial secretions through suction.

Procedures have certain contraindications. The main ones include pulmonary bleeding, asthma attacks, the presence of foreign bodies, severe respiratory failure. Additional reasons for the ban include ischemic heart disease, epileptic seizures and impaired blood clotting.

Currently, the incidence of tuberculosis is increasing significantly. For this reason, it is important to carry out diagnostic measures in a timely manner, especially if patients in childhood are affected by the pathological process. Thanks to the main methods for detecting tuberculosis, it becomes possible to form an effective therapy. All available techniques make it possible to detect negative changes in the body in the early stages of the development of the disease. That is why early detection of tuberculosis is important.

This disease, in addition to physical harm, also causes moral harm to people, since it is a kind of social stigma.

Those who become ill often close in on themselves and avoid unnecessary contacts with the outside world and their close environment. Some even put a cross on themselves.

Fortunately, modern medicine year by year develops and improves both methods of treating tuberculosis and its timely diagnosis.

After all, the earlier the disease is detected, the easier it is to overcome it. Therefore, many ordinary people are wondering how to get tested for tuberculosis.

To begin with, I would like to clarify that one test for tuberculosis does not give any guarantees. Since this disease has an extremely high percentage of domestic infection.

And this means that only regular, periodic checks can significantly protect a person in terms of its timely detection.

So, when should you check? The answer is simple, the sooner the better. Tuberculosis is not a disease that can be "dragged out".

Who is susceptible to infection

Absolutely anyone can become her “victim”, be it a homeless person, a teacher, or a businessman. Neither social status nor lifestyle guarantee you absolutely nothing.

Even a relatively normal state of health does not mean anything. Usually, the disease can develop for a long time. First, the lymph nodes will suffer, then the organs and tissues of the body.

By the way, the lungs can suffer, while not in the very first place. So, the disease can begin with the bones, the digestive system, or even the urinary tract.

The first signs of the disease

Weight loss, weakness, frequent fatigue, profuse, night sweats, persistent cough, may be the first "bells". Therefore, if you have not been tested for a long time, do it as soon as possible.

They check for tuberculosis in several ways, hardware and laboratory.

The first and most common hardware method in adults is fluorography, which allows you to detect a primary lesion of the lung tissue without “loading” the person with excessive radiation exposure.

If the picture is unclear, the doctor may prescribe an x-ray for a more detailed analysis. Then the picture is taken in several projections, and not just in one, as in fluorography.

In addition, the doctor may also refer to CT (computed tomography). Sometimes, it allows you to visually detect the localization of the disease.

Tuberculin injection is one of the laboratory methods of primary diagnosis. Thus, a preparation containing a small dose of proteins obtained from already dead tuberculosis cells is injected under the patient's skin.

Thus, a person whose body does not contain pathogenic mycobacteria will have only a small injection mark in a couple of days.

Analyzes

However, there are more proven methods that allow diagnosing with a fairly high accuracy. To do this, doctors do a series of blood and urine tests, fixing the presence of the pathogen or its traces.

• A general analysis of blood and urine is a kind of basis in the detection of pathogenic pathology. If we talk about blood, then here, with tuberculosis, there will be a high level of leukocytes, in the urine - symptoms of amyloidosis caused due to damaged kidneys and urinary tract harmful mycobacteria.
• Cultural method - is to identify a certain number of mycobacteria in sputum. If more than 5 are found, the diagnostician places this sample in a nutrient medium so that fast-growing microorganisms can determine the degree of their sensitivity to certain types of antibiotics.
• Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. This method consists in examining urine, sputum, blood cultures or cerebrospinal fluid for the presence of mycobacterium DNA. Today, this is the most accurate analysis that allows you to say with 100% certainty whether there is a focus of the disease in a particular organ. There have been cases when PCR diagnosed the presence of the disease, even after a negative result on other tests.
• Smear microscopy is another diagnostic method, during which the fluid secreted by coughing, sputum, is studied. The patient collects it in a sterile jar and gives it to the laboratory. There it is stained according to the Ziehl-Neelsen method. If the sample turned red instead of blue, then it contains Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• Biopsy or histological analysis. It consists in the study of a small fragment of human tissue. This method is mainly used in cases where it is impossible to check the body fluid, as in case of bone tuberculosis.
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or ELISA is a method in which blood cultures are examined for the presence of antibodies. A very inaccurate method, rather clarifying, since a positive result only speaks of infection. More relevant if necessary to confirm extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

It is worth noting that in addition to the above, there are also tests that help detect tuberculosis at home. These analyzes are freely available on the Internet, where they can be easily purchased.

However, many experts argue that such tests do not give a 100% guarantee. Moreover, they can often "deceive". Therefore, doctors strongly recommend to be checked directly in medical institutions.

And finally, I would like to say that you should not forget about the methods of preventing the disease, because it is much easier to worry about preventive measures in advance than to undergo long-term treatment later.

These methods do not require any special, monetary expenses.

It is enough just to give up bad habits, in particular, smoking, eat right, take vitamins, practice hardening, and of course, observe the rules of personal hygiene.

Also, try to avoid contact with other people's towels, combs, dishes, etc.

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Koch's bacilli. Most often, the pathological process occurs in the lungs, but in 10-15% of cases, the joints, bone tissue, kidneys, liver, meninges, and peripheral lymph nodes are affected.

In what cases is the disease possible

Almost 90% of people encounter mycobacteria during their lifetime, but the disease does not develop in all cases. The most common method of infection is aerogenic. The causative agent is contained in the sputum of patients with tuberculosis in an open form and is released into the environment when coughing and sneezing. Infection is also possible when eating contaminated foods, in case of a medical error when vaccinating or using non-sterile instruments,

When it enters the body of a healthy person, mycobacteria are destroyed by cells of the immune system. But if the number of phagocytes is reduced or their functional activity is impaired, the bacteria remain viable and begin to actively multiply inside the cells. Gradually, the first symptoms of the disease appear.

A high probability of developing tuberculosis is noted in persons suffering from congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies. The risk group includes patients with diabetes mellitus, gastric and duodenal ulcers, cancer, viral hepatitis, chronic inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, alcoholism and drug addiction. Children who are not vaccinated with BCG and residents of large industrial centers with polluted air are often infected.

The spread of the disease is associated with unfavorable social factors: people with low incomes and those leading a marginal lifestyle are more likely to suffer from tuberculosis. Migrants, people released from places of deprivation of liberty, who do not have a permanent place of residence are predisposed to the disease.

The risk group also includes people who often come into contact with patients in an open form. These are family members of TB patients and medical workers.

Laboratory and hardware methods

In order to be tested for tuberculosis, you should consult a pulmonologist. The patient's history is important. The doctor should pay attention to the time of the patient's first symptoms of the disease, the presence of concomitant pathologies and bad habits, living conditions, the nature of professional activity, and possible contacts with patients with tuberculosis. When examining children and adolescents, data on the number of BCG vaccinations received and the results of previously conducted Mantoux tests are analyzed.

Physical examination of the patient is uninformative; it can be used to suspect tuberculosis only in the later stages of the disease. When the bronchi are obturated with caseous necrotic masses, the nature of breathing does not change and additional noises are not heard during auscultation.

As part of the examination, patients are prescribed:

• general analysis of blood and urine,
• fluorography or x-ray of the lungs,
• Diaskintest or Mantoux test,
• blood test for the presence of antibodies to Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
• bacteriological examination of sputum.

The Mantoux test is used both for the diagnosis and for the prevention of tuberculosis in children. The principle of the method is to assess the reaction of the immune system to the introduction of the pathogen antigen - tuberculin.

The Mantoux test is not highly specific, its result is influenced by many additional factors: individual sensitivity to tuberculin, recent BCG vaccination, exacerbation of chronic diseases. When examining patients with a positive test result, Diaskintest is performed, which contains synthetic antigens of mycobacteria.

Bacteriological examination of sputum is prescribed for suspected pulmonary tuberculosis. To identify extrapulmonary forms of the disease, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, bone marrow and lymph nodes are analyzed. Sputum for research is obtained by expectoration or with the help of bronchoscopy. Bronchoscopy allows you to collect sputum without admixture of saliva and discharge from the nasopharynx, but the procedure has contraindications.

Most often, a bacterioscopic study is performed with Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The analysis is relatively fast and inexpensive, but has a significant drawback - simple microscopy makes it possible to detect bacteria in a sample when they contain more than 5000 microbial bodies per 1 ml of the material under study. Such a number of microorganisms is found in sputum with progressive tuberculosis. In the early stages of the disease, it is more advisable to determine the presence of pathogen DNA in the sputum by PCR. The study is highly accurate, but is ineffective when infected with mutant strains of mycobacteria.

Bacteriological culture of sputum and other biological fluids of the patient on nutrient media allows not only to identify the pathogen, but also to establish its resistance to various chemotherapeutic drugs. But the study requires 3-4 weeks.

Also, the methods of early diagnosis of tuberculosis include a blood test for the presence of antibodies to Koch's bacilli. Immunological examination is considered accurate and effective, but in patients with reduced immunity, a false negative result is possible.

A general blood test does not apply to specific studies, but it can be used to identify the inflammatory process and assess the general condition of the body.

Radiation diagnostic methods - X-ray of the lungs, fluorography, CT, MRI, angiopulmonography - allow you to distinguish tuberculosis from other diseases of the respiratory system and determine the localization of foci of pathology. In adults, fluorography is used for a preventive annual examination. Ultrasound is more often performed with damage to the liver and kidneys than with pulmonary tuberculosis.

How to test for tuberculosis at home

It is impossible to identify the disease at home on the basis of clinical symptoms alone. Testing for tuberculosis should be carried out in a medical institution using modern laboratory and instrumental studies.

But the appearance in a person of characteristic signs of the disease suggests the development of pathology.

In patients in the chronic form, there is a lack of body weight, subfebrile fever, cough with sputum, hemoptysis. People complain of increased fatigue, sleep and appetite disorders, decreased performance.

The acute form of tuberculosis has common symptoms with pneumonia. In patients, the temperature rises to 39 0 C, signs of general intoxication of the body appear. You may need differential diagnosis with influenza, bronchitis, lung cancer, mycosis. Tuberculosis of the musculoskeletal system develops like arthritis or causes neurological disorders. Tuberculosis of the digestive system masquerades as chronic colitis or enteritis.

The proof of the disease is the detection of mycobacteria in the patient's biological fluids.