Anatom3DTuberculosis
Tuberculosis pulmonum · Tuberkulóza
What it is
A slow mycobacterium that walls itself into the lung; a quarter of humanity carries it latently.
Symptoms & signs
- Cough over 3 weeks
- coughing blood
- night sweats
- weight loss
- fever
- fatigue
🚩 Get help if…
- call 112 / 911 now Coughing up more than a spoonful of blood
- call 112 / 911 now Severe headache, stiff neck or confusion
- see a doctor soon Cough over 3 weeks with fever, night sweats or weight loss
- see a doctor soon Yellow skin or eyes, vomiting or blurred vision on TB drugs
Where it strikes
Medical treatment
- 6-month RIPE regimen (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol)
- BPaLM for drug-resistant TB
- directly observed therapy
- contact tracing
Natural & lifestyle
- Nutrition support — food parcels cut TB among household contacts in an Indian trial trials support
- Vitamin D — no faster cure or fewer infections in trials not confirmed in trials
- ventilation of living space
- treat HIV and diabetes
- BCG vaccination in children
Emerging & experimental
- M72/AS01E vaccine (phase 3)
- shorter 4-month regimens
- host-directed therapy
Alternative, off-label & anecdotal
Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.
- Vitamin D and sunlight — the sanatorium era used both; trials found no faster cure overall, possibly some benefit in certain genotypes mixed evidence
- The sanatorium regimen — rest, fresh air, sun and rich food; it helped some before antibiotics and is no substitute for drugs anecdotal / traditional
- Metformin as host-directed therapy — observational benefit; trials under way early / small studies
- Garlic and curcumin — kill mycobacteria in the laboratory only early / small studies
ICD codes
- ICD-10 A16.2
- ICD-11 1B10.Z Respiratory tuberculosis, without mention of bacteriological or histological confirmation