Talk:Diagnosis of tuberculosis

WHO protocols

Treatment for Tuberculosis may vary from developing coutries to developed countries, and so may vary the protocol for diagnosis. For eg. as per the WHO run and monitored Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program in India (2002), 3 sputum samples, one of them overnight, and two others at the spot are a MUST for diagnosis. X-ray takes a second place in countries where holding cases for 6 months of ATT is a strain on the state and the citizen.

I believe these new diagnosis protocols of WHO should be incoroported, and throw this open for discussion before I go ahead and put it up.

ANy comments?

I agree that the WHO diagnostic protocols be put up, BUT remember that they only guide diagnosis of TB of the lungs and pretty much ignore TB infection elsewhere in the body.--Gak 16:03, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Interferon-γ testing

A related issue

Two other tests that should also be metioned are Quantiferon TB (QFT) Gold which its manufacturer (www.cellestis.com) claims is much more accurate than Mantoux, particularly among BCG imunised subjects and Ellispot tests about which I know nothing.

Since I own shares in Cellestis - the manufacturer of of QFT - I would prefer someone a bit more independent and knowlegable to deal with these tests.

"In general the US approach is likely to result in more false positives and more unnecessary treatment with potentially toxic drugs; the UK approach is as sensitive in theory and should also be more specific, because of the use of interferon-γ tests." Heyo, I was wondering whether this statement is author's opinion or whether it is a view taken from a published paper. If it is a published paper, could you please add the relevant citation, thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tetraploidtree (talk • contribs) 15:40, 23 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Tyne test

Reference to the Tyne test removed. It is no longer in use anywhere in the world.--Gak 15:34, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Abreugraphy

I propose that this section be moved to TB radiography.--Gak 16:00, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

US guidance

Will people please STOP chopping and pasting bits wholesale from the CDC website and pretending that they apply to the whole world? CDC recommendations are specific to the US and are NOT relevant to other countries: in fact, many CDC recommendations directly contradict the recommendations of other countries and international health organisations (including the WHO). If you ARE going to put CDC guidance into this article, PLEASE mark it as US specific. --Gak 18:06, 17 September 2006 (UTC

Role of microbiology in diagnosis

Microbiological diagnosis is the only definitive method of diagnosing tuberculosis.--Gak 13:11, 24 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Productive cough"

the symptoms of pulmonary TB: productive, prolonged cough of three or more weeks

For those of us without an extensive background in medical jargon, could some link/explanation be given to clarify the difference between a "productive" cough versus an "unproductive" cough? -- 14:11, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Productive cough basically means that you cough stuff up. I added a link from productive cough to sputum. Hope this helps. (D.c.camero (talk) 01:40, 30 August 2008 (UTC))[reply]