Tuberculosis is a dangerous and difficult to treat disease. The effectiveness of treatment depends on how timely it was detected. No one is immune from infection; absolutely everyone can get sick - adults, children, the elderly.
In the absence of the necessary timely treatment closed form goes into dangerous open, therefore, diagnostics for early stages disease, and this can be achieved through regular and comprehensive examinations.
In this article we will look at various methods for diagnosing this pulmonary disease, and we will also try to determine which blood test for pulmonary tuberculosis is the most reliable and informative.
So, examination is necessary when:
It is especially important to timely determine the presence of tuberculosis in childhood, since in children there is a very high probability that infection will cause further pathological processes in the body.
Important! One of preventive measures is BCG vaccination on 4 day life child and V 7 year old age. Children's body weaker than an adult, so it is important to protect him from infection and get vaccinated.
Tuberculosis can be detected in several ways.
Photo 1. X-ray fragment chest patient with tuberculosis. Fluorography is one of the most reliable methods for diagnosing this disease, but it is most effective in combination with others. For example, a detailed blood test will show tuberculosis even at an early stage.
Important! The Mantoux test does not allow one to determine the presence of tuberculosis with 100% probability, but it will help determine the risk group for the disease. Testing should be done with caution for those who suffer from allergies. The body may react in unpredictable ways to the introduction of the composition.
Compound red blood cells(red cells) changes slightly in the presence of bacteria. Acute intestinal or pulmonary bleeding provokes anemia, significant decrease in hemoglobin.
There are people who doubt whether tuberculosis can be determined by a blood test. In fact, a general analysis can identify developing inflammatory and pathological processes in the body by increased ESR. An increased indicator indicates not only the activity and duration of the current inflammation, but also the exacerbation of chronic ones, especially in the final stages of the disease.
Photo 2. The doctor performs the procedure of drawing blood from the patient’s vein using a syringe. After this, a blood test will be performed, in case of tuberculosis, the indicators will indicate inflammatory processes.
Important! The ESR level can be confused with indicators for inflammation or lung cancer. IN in this case needs to be researched eosinophil count(one of the types of leukocytes). If eosinophils are increased, and the leukocyte count shows sudden changes in the blood test, this happens with tuberculosis, and is excluded with pneumonia.
Clinical analysis Blood counts for pulmonary tuberculosis are often insufficient to diagnose tuberculosis bacillus . Then further comprehensive examination. The same can be said about biochemical analysis blood. With tuberculosis in the initial stage or latent form, it most likely will not show any abnormalities. And only when acute forms disease, the albumin-globulin ratio in it will be reduced.
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There are more accurate, more in-depth methods of blood testing than CBC that can detect tuberculosis. How to determine whether you have the disease using such blood tests will be discussed below.
Making an objective diagnosis is possible using approaches polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and enzyme immunoassay(ELISA).
With the help ELISA The presence of pathogenic antibodies in the patient is detected. The method is convenient because it allows you to simultaneously examine a large number of samples. However, it has low sensitivity and is recommended for use in areas with low level morbidity.
Method PCR is one of the most effective. It is used to detect disease, determine severity and remission of treatment by finding the DNA of microbacteria.
PCR is used for:
Both blood tests for antibodies to tuberculosis are considered quite reliable. But there are others.
Less common method for identifying pathogenic microbacteria than PCR and ELISA Interferon Gamma Release Assays. It can be performed instead of a tuberculin test. The reaction shows the formation of interferon gamma in response to the introduction of microbacteria. Based on the results, the presence of infection can be accurately determined.
To others alternative way research is QuantiFERON-TB Gold. This method most often used to test children who have severe allergic reactions to a tuberculin test.
Important! Both methods do not allow determining the degree of infection - active or latent.
Your doctor will determine which type of blood tests will be used. Most often, the research is carried out comprehensively. A blood test for a latent form of tuberculosis may not give results at all.
When interpreting a general blood test, you should pay attention to the level of ESR, hemoglobin, and leukocytes.
ESR level at healthy person will less than 50 units, exceeding this indicator indicates an inflammatory process in the body.
White blood cell count a patient with tuberculosis reaches 6 in 10 9/l, in acute and severe cases of disease development - 12-15 at 10 9/l.
Composition of red blood cells remains normal in most patients. Low hemoglobin is recorded in miliary tuberculosis and caseous pneumonia.
Acute, progressive and complicated forms of the disease change leukogram. In some cases, moderate leukocytosis is detected ( up to 10,000-15,000 leukocytes), less commonly leukopenia.
Whatever blood test you do for pulmonary tuberculosis, decoding them is the work of experienced specialists. Only they can accurately determine how advanced tuberculosis is, if it is still detected. ELISA and PCR analyzes are interpreted in the same way. On special forms, a negative or positive result is indicated opposite the identified infection.
The difficulty of treatment is that the infection can become sustainable to any type of antibiotics, especially in advanced stages, as well as long-term incubation period , during which it is not possible to determine the infection.
After identifying and prescribing appropriate therapy, the recovery process is monitored periodically 1-2 times a month. The patient donates blood and sputum.
Photo 3. Medical table in a doctor's office after collecting sputum from a patient. Sputum samples are placed in plastic tubes and await laboratory research.
You can take a general blood test, Mantoux test, and undergo fluorography in almost any medical center, this is done immediately when suspicion arises. Based on the data obtained, the therapist will make a conclusion about the absence pathological changes in the body or will issue a referral for further examination at a tuberculosis clinic.
Specialized and more precise research are held in tuberculosis dispensaries, which are equipped with laboratories and the necessary reagents for research.
So, to summarize the above:
We invite you to watch a video that also answers the question of whether tuberculosis can be detected using a blood test. It talks in more detail about the QuantiFERON TB Gold test, which shows tuberculosis in a blood test based on the immune response.
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Tuberculosis is an incredibly common disease that affects about a third of the world's population. The number of patients increases every year. In some states with underdeveloped medicine, the number of patients exceeds 80%.
At the same time, the population of even developed countries cannot be confident in reliable protection against tuberculosis due to a number of factors. Among them, the most significant is the reduction immune defense person. Mycobacterium tuberculosis enters our body, and the immune system is not able to fight them in most cases. Unfortunately, modern man in most cases the immune system does not function at the proper level.
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Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. It is caused by certain types of bacteria, most often Koch's bacillus. The disease affects the lungs, and in rare cases it can develop in other human organs.
The most dangerous thing is that early stages tuberculosis is asymptomatic. In one case out of ten, the latent disease becomes active.
Symptoms of tuberculosis are:
Tuberculosis occurs in two forms, namely:
At open form tuberculosis bacteria, causing disease, are present in all the patient’s secretions: saliva, urine, fistula discharge, even in feces. Mycobacteria also contain the patient's blood. Maximum precautions must be taken to avoid infection.
If tuberculosis occurs in a closed form, a person does not pose a threat to others.
A large number of methods are used to diagnose tuberculosis. The following types of TB tests provide the most effective data:
In turn, blood tests for tuberculosis are of two types:
The first method of diagnosing tuberculosis is based on the detection of antibodies to mycobacteria, causing disease. The advantage of this technique is the possibility of large quantity analyses. However, the use of this type of analysis is most appropriate in regions where the infection rate of the population is not too high.
PCR blood diagnostics is a more effective test. It is used to identify diseases that have different localization. PCR diagnostics also allows you to monitor the effectiveness of treatment.
Which blood test is most appropriate in each specific case is determined by the doctor treating tuberculosis. But all doctors urge you to take tests on time: this is the only way to find out the quantitative and qualitative composition of the blood, diagnosis, etc.
To test for the presence of tuberculosis in humans, tuberculin vaccination is most often used. It provides the opportunity early detection illness and timely response. This technique is based on the fact that the body of adults has a certain sensitivity to the tuberculin drug. Its degree depends on whether the person came into contact with mycobacteria. If infection occurs, a tuberculin allergy will be observed (this is a very sensitive delayed-type reaction). This analysis is called the Mantoux test. It is administered subcutaneously, which ensures much greater accuracy of research than with skin examination.
Analysis of tuberculin samples allows:
If a person has not previously been in contact with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, he does not have an allergic reaction to tuberculin. An infected person develops a papule (small swelling). A Mantoux test is considered positive if the size of the papule exceeds 5 mm. Such an analysis is the reason for a detailed examination of a person to identify the disease. At the same time, it also happens that a person’s Mantoux test positive reaction does not speak about tuberculosis, but about another disease, for example a cold, helminthic infestation, chronic tonsillitis. In order to minimize the possibility of such an error, the TB doctor prescribes additional tests blood. After all, blood testing is extremely important for such a disease.
Lungs, which is quite difficult to treat. To identify it, doctors prescribe various tests, which includes a blood test, which changes its composition depending on the location and extent of the lesion. Tuberculosis refers to infectious diseases which provoke inflammatory processes.
The site highlights the main areas of damage for tuberculosis:
Mainly, a blood test allows you to identify the disease, determine its nature, and also determine the resistance of the immune system to antibiotics. Since all people have different bodies, their reactions to medications are different. Doctors must be sure that they are not doing harm with their treatment, so as not to further aggravate the situation.
Often the infection enters the body through the respiratory system. Rarely does it penetrate through food, wounds, and even during intrauterine development. Although such situations are also noted.
The main factors for the development of tuberculosis are bad environment, unfavorable living or working conditions, low immunoresistance, long-term respiratory diseases. Since the disease is common and often leads to fatal outcome, doctors immediately begin treatment, after conducting a blood test.
If the patient suspects tuberculosis, you should immediately consult your doctor. He will order tests and diagnostics to check for tuberculosis, after which he will move on to treatment. Important diagnostic measures are:
12 hours before the test collection, you are prohibited from eating or drinking a lot. On the day of taking a sputum test, do not brush your teeth or rinse your mouth. All this will allow you to more accurately determine the readings that will be obtained as a result. If the diagnosis of tuberculosis is confirmed, then a re-check is carried out to eliminate the error.
For 8-12 hours, it is forbidden to eat, drink liquid, or take medications that thin the blood (Paracetamol, Aspirin, etc.). Support is also needed loved one, because after the procedure it is quite difficult to move.
One of the diagnostic methods is a blood test. It assesses the level of antibodies in the body that fight tuberculosis infections. However, a blood test is not able to determine the stage of the disease.
For tuberculosis, two types of blood tests are prescribed:
These procedures make it possible to determine the secretion of interferon gamma, which reaches high degree accuracy (up to 95%).
The advantage of a blood test is that a person does not need to take it again. In just one visit, you can identify all the indications if you have a disease. This is different from a sputum test. Also, a blood test is more accurate, especially if the reaction to Mantoux is in doubt.
In addition to a blood test for tuberculosis, diagnostics are carried out to detect hepatitis and HIV. A general blood test is also prescribed. The main indicator here is ESR, which allows you to determine the degree of resistance of the body to Koch's wand.
Healthy ESR readings are:
At inflammatory processes ESR increases. Marks can reach more than 60 units. However this indicator may also indicate cancer.
A general blood test allows you to monitor all changes in the blood during tuberculosis. Thus, there is an increase in the level of leukocytes (leukocytosis), ESR, a shift to the left leukocyte formula, as well as lymphopenia. If tuberculosis subsides, then lymphocytosis is observed.
An additional diagnostic procedure is a urine test, which allows you to determine whether the infection has spread to the urinary system and kidneys. Before collecting urine, you must stop taking medications, especially antibiotics.
The body's reaction during Mantoux is one of the first diagnostic procedures. The doctor necessarily prescribes it not only when there are suspicions of tuberculosis, but also when the patient has previously suffered from this disease. It is also carried out during periods of epidemic outbreaks, especially for people at risk. If the patient is in contact with a person with tuberculosis, then he is also given a Mantoux test.
An injection is made in the forearm area through which tuberculin is injected - this is a substance of protein mass and mycobacteria. A red spot appears at the injection site, which may then itch. This area should not be wet or rubbed as this may distort the test results. If the Mantoux test shows unsatisfactory results, then other tests are prescribed.
If at the puncture site there is severe itching accompanied by aching, then you should apply a damp towel to the injection for no more than 10 minutes. There is no need to hold it longer to prevent water from penetrating under the skin. Sometimes the piercing can swell a lot. In this case, you need to consult a doctor.
If Mantoux does not show reliable results, then the following tests are performed:
Tuberculosis is a fatal disease, so it is not recommended to ignore its presence, so as not to worsen the prognosis further development and not shorten your life span.
The sooner treatment is prescribed, the better. Doctors have effective treatments that help in the early stages of the disease. However, if your sick condition start, then disastrous consequences are possible, in which we are already talking about how long patients with tuberculosis live.
Tuberculosis – serious illness. Not invented today 100% effective way prevention. Microbacteria that provoke it are not uncommon in the environment.
Immunization is successful in approximately 70% of cases. In 30% of cases it is not effective, according to statistics.
Timely diagnosis increases the chances of a speedy recovery without consequences. Children undergo mantu, and adults undergo fluorography. The study is conducted on average once every one to two years. It is not recommended to carry them out frequently. And yet, it is natural for everyone to want to control the situation and not let everything take its course.
Is it possible to detect (diagnose) tuberculosis using blood tests?
Tests for tuberculosis are done in different ways, including blood tests.
Few people like to take a blood test. However, you can’t do without it. A general blood test will show in time that the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells is significantly reduced. These changes do not constitute a basis for diagnosis. But this is a reason for more detailed research.
A decrease in these indicators indicates the presence of an inflammatory process.
If the time has not yet come for fluorography, whether there are symptoms of a pulmonary infection or not, but you want to make sure that it has not entered the body, it is rational to take a routine test.
Inflammation in the body of any etiology is always a cause for concern. Perhaps we will find out that he is not there?
There are several types of Koch bacillus. These microorganisms can live in soil, water and in the human body, but remain passive and do not reproduce. Under unfavorable circumstances, the population grows and the disease begins. They can enter the body not only through airborne droplets, but also through food, for example.
Depending on the type of Koch bacillus, tuberculosis of different types develops. It happens that only blood tests are informative for tuberculosis, and not mantoux, for example. This is exactly what happens with the miliary variant. Mantoux will not necessarily cause a reaction.
An exacerbation, the appearance of symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, increased sweating at night, and a dry cough will make you worry. But it will be difficult for the person himself to associate these symptoms with tuberculosis. But the doctor can rely on the results of the mantoux and make a mistake.
A blood test will reveal the problem. Only blood tests can alert you to tuberculosis genitourinary system. Urine may not change significantly in composition, and only mildly expressed symptoms will bother you. It's a dull pain in the lumbar region.
How long can microorganisms remain latent in the human body?
The development of the disease can be caused by infection with a large number of microorganisms, depletion of the immune system due to stress, colds, hypothermia, HIV infection, etc. The treatment is complex, difficult to tolerate, and high percentage mortality among persons suffering from the pulmonary form.
A positive result is the transition of tuberculosis to a closed form from an open one, without complications. A blood test for pulmonary tuberculosis helps to adjust treatment.
When open, it is observed severe cough, bleeding during expectoration, high fever.
Koch's wand destroys the alveoli and poisons the entire body with toxins. Blood in acute tuberculosis is examined in order to determine the degree of intoxication and take timely measures. This analysis shows the condition of other organs and systems. Aggressive therapy is needed, but it can affect the functioning of the liver and kidneys. In order to notice complications in time if they suddenly appear, they donate blood in case of acute tuberculosis.
The appearance of pronounced, clear symptoms in a patient is preceded by an incubation period. The disease is most easily treated if it is detected at this stage.
A person with a closed form of tuberculosis is not dangerous to others and hospitalization is not necessary. Blood tests for this type of tuberculosis are carried out as part of preventive examinations. When the form is closed, visible on a fluorographic image pathological changes to one degree or another - scars on the inner surface, the so-called pulmonary fibrosis. They may not cause concern in the future.
The formation of scar tissue at the site of damaged tissue is natural. defensive reaction body. At unfavorable conditions they can cause progress destructive processes. This defensive reaction, although natural, is not effective in some cases.
These changes are irreversible and lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the respiratory system. Blood tests for closed tuberculosis help to detect deterioration in health in a timely manner.
Sometimes an operation is performed to remove the part of the lung most severely affected by Koch's bacillus.
It is necessary to control the rehabilitation process. Even if the doctor does not insist, it is advisable to donate blood for closed, chronic tuberculosis from time to time, and show initiative. Relapses are possible. You need to make every effort to not get sick again.
Some tests are expensive. But there are also inexpensive ones. It is better to donate blood once every six months for this form of tuberculosis to check the immune system and body function than to constantly fear the manifestation of complications.
According to statistics, people who have had this disease are more likely to face a problem such as lung cancer.
Do they donate blood for osteoarticular tuberculosis?
There is no information about the relationship between bone cancer and osteoarticular tuberculosis. But tests still need to be taken for prevention. It is easier to avoid many diseases if you undergo the most relevant preventive examinations on your own initiative every six months.
The presence of Koch's bacillus in the body can be diagnosed in both adults and children.
If a blood test or fluorography revealed a problem?
All measures must be taken to improve the situation.
If the information is provided by a manta, the child is prescribed a blood test, urine test, sputum test, a test for helminthiasis, and an x-ray. The same tests are needed if fluorography results are negative. Depending on the results, they are assigned the status of tuberculosis infected or not.
In children, mantu can provoke allergic reaction just that. The child may scratch the injection site. In this case, too, the truth will soon be established and the hypothesis about the presence of infection will be refuted. To prevent the development of the disease, isoniazid is usually prescribed. This drug can be used to prevent tuberculosis in both children and adults.
What blood tests are needed for tuberculosis?
A general blood test will suggest that there may be a problem. He will warn, give a clue, make you wary. It may not be taken if the goal is prevention.
Perhaps it is worth choosing more informative tests instead of OAC?
Diagnose this disease only by deviation from the norm in the concentration of red blood cells for children and adults - a super task.
If tuberculosis is in the body, blood tests should provide information about ESR. This is the sedimentation rate of red blood cells. If the ESR is elevated, it means that not only inflammation is present in the body, but also the process of removing toxins is disrupted.
In the case of tuberculosis, ESR increases due to tissue inflammation and due to the accumulation of toxins produced by these microorganisms. ESR can also be used to determine pathological changes in tissues such as necrosis and more.
These blood parameters are often not studied in the general analysis. By general analysis blood tests determine professional suitability, for example, functional deviations. In many laboratories you can, for a fee, on your own initiative, without a doctor’s referral, undergo more detailed diagnostics. Before symptoms appear, it will become clear that the situation is dangerous and help and medication are needed.
If you can’t decipher the analysis, you should consult a therapist. However, they are easy to decipher. Decrypting it yourself will not take much time. It happens that only one indicator arouses suspicion.
What to do in such a situation?
The disease is determined by a combination of symptoms.
Tuberculosis can also be determined by changes in monocyte levels. Immune system fails to cope with assigned tasks. The same deviation is observed for some autoimmune diseases, with HIV infection. The situation will become clearer, but not completely.
Even if deviations from the norm are found in general, most significant indicators, you will need to submit sputum or saliva to the laboratory and undergo fluorography. In first place in importance among people at risk is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent test, which determines the presence of specific antibodies.
Polymerase chain reaction testing is the most effective and accurate diagnostic method. It allows you to detect Koch's bacillus DNA in biological material. Unfortunately, this requires special equipment. Not every laboratory has it.
What tests are best to take for prevention?
To determine the problem and interpret poor health, it is sometimes important to know what a general analysis will show. In another situation, it is important to know what specific studies have shown.
A blood test for tuberculosis is an excellent replacement for the familiar method of detecting this disease through the Mantoux reaction from school.
Blood tests for the presence of mycobacteria are actively used to examine both children and adults. Similar diagnostics more modern, accurate and efficient.
Tuberculosis is a common disease that is difficult to diagnose initial stages without carrying out necessary tests. The disease can affect different organs of the human body.
Most often, when people hear the word “tuberculosis,” they imagine the form of the disease that affects the lungs.
The manifestations of pulmonary tuberculosis are very nonspecific, especially in children, so this disease can be confused with a common ARVI.
A characteristic feature of the disease is that in most cases the infection is asymptomatic, since normal immunity will not allow pathogenic organisms to multiply uncontrollably.
But with a decrease protective functions the pathogen may unexpectedly manifest itself.
These bacteria are very tenacious and can “wait in the wings” in the host’s body for years. This form of tuberculosis is called latent.
The active form of tuberculosis manifests itself due to the direct pathogenic effect of macobacteria.
A sick person will be weakened and easily tired, and at a relatively low temperature he will develop excessive sweating(especially at night), and leukopenia and anemia will be detected in the blood.
The temperature in the initial stages usually does not rise above 38 degrees, and its peak occurs in the evening.
Basically, infection with pulmonary tuberculosis occurs by airborne droplets, but due to the special survivability of mycobacteria and their resistance to conditions external environment You can also get infected through things.
But not all tuberculosis carriers are contagious. The disease can occur in open or closed forms. People with the closed type of tuberculosis are not dangerous to others and are not a source of infection.
There are many types of tests that help detect tuberculosis.
There are 5 main ones that are used nowadays:
For routine analysis, the Mantoux reaction study is most often used. This is a very sensitive technique, but at the same time, under the influence of many factors, it can give false positive results.
It is often difficult for a child to follow the necessary requirements to make the Mantoux reaction more reliable, and as a result, controversial data can be obtained.
IN diagnostic purposes Instead, it would be more convenient and effective to conduct a blood test for tuberculosis. In this case, the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method will be more informative than ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
Which methods should be preferred instead of the Mantoux reaction can best be advised by a specialist, based on the specific situation.
ELISA is suitable specifically for determining the presence of the disease. A positive result obtained using this technique will be considered sufficient grounds for a preliminary diagnosis and the appointment of additional studies.
At the same time, negative indicators may be unreliable. This method is quick to process; using it, you can easily examine a group of people, but due to its specificity, ELISA is suitable for screening the population instead of the Mantoux reaction only where tuberculosis is a rare phenomenon.
In this case, ELISA will allow you to quickly and easily conduct examinations. But this technique is not suitable for examinations in schools or kindergartens.
And if this test is performed on a child, such a certificate with a negative test result may not be accepted and they may be asked to additionally carry out other diagnostic procedures.
PCR will give accurate results within 36 – 48 hours. Such an analysis can be fully used instead of PPD testa, despite the fact that the likelihood of getting false-positive results with PCR is much less.
Another advantage of the technique is that there is no need to administer tuberculin to the child.
Several methods are often used to make a diagnosis. The first will be PCR or the Mantoux reaction, and further studies upon detection pathological processes in the lungs consist of sputum analysis, bronchoscopy or fluorography.
Swiss scientists have developed new look blood test for tuberculosis TAM-TB. With its help, it is supposed to quickly and efficiently examine children instead of a tuberculin test.
Its action is to detect changes in T-lymphocytes that occur under the influence of tuberculosis pathogens.
The results of such a study should be ready within 24 hours after the test.
As a rule, the diagnosis of many diseases begins with clinical trial blood.
A general analysis will not reveal the causative agents of tuberculosis, but with an active form of the disease, it will definitely show that there are inflammatory processes in the body.
General blood test for acute course tuberculosis indicators are similar to research data for pneumonia or cancer.
To perform ELISA, the patient must donate blood from a vein on an empty stomach. This method involves detecting antibodies to tuberculosis bacteria in the human body.
At the same time, a positive result can be obtained even if a person has already had this disease, because antibodies may still remain in his blood.
Therefore, ELISA is not used to monitor the effectiveness of disease treatment. It should be used only for diagnostic purposes, and it is better to entrust the interpretation of the results to a specialist.
Both diagnosis and monitoring of therapy are carried out using PCR analysis. This method is often prescribed to clarify positive results obtained using other, less accurate methods (Mantoux reaction or ELISA).
Using PCR, you can detect traces of the DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the blood, and also draw a conclusion about their approximate amount in the body.
This method is convenient for tracking changes that appear during therapy. PCR will help to quickly identify the disease, determine the areas of its exact localization (if it is not pulmonary tuberculosis) and find the source of infection. This technique will also allow you to catch a relapse in time.
Treatment of tuberculosis is a complex and lengthy process that can take from six months to 2 years.
Some pathogens are resistant to anti-tuberculosis drugs, in which case treatment may be delayed.
