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Primary chronic pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common form of pulmonary tuberculosis in our conditions. The disease usually appears as a result of droplet infection. The location, type, and severity of symptoms may vary. Most often, the patient sweats excessively (especially in the morning), coughs and feels general weakness.
What is primary pulmonary tuberculosis?
Primary pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common type of pulmonary tuberculosis. It usually occurs due to an infection by airborne droplets. In adults, tuberculosis is mostly caused by an existing infection that has become active. Symptoms of the disease may appear as single or multiple lesions, usually located in the apex of the lung / lung.
Primary pulmonary tuberculosis can take the form of:
- chronic fibrocystic pulmonary tuberculosis and cirrhosis,
- serous pneumonia,
- miliary tuberculosis.
Symptoms of primary pulmonary tuberculosis
Patients with primary pulmonary tuberculosis develop:
- low-grade fever,
- cough,
- progressive weakness,
- weight loss
- blood plucking,
- chest pain ailments,
- dyspnoea,
- excessive sweating (especially in the morning),
- coughing up mucus (sometimes with pus or blood).
Disease foci arising in the course of primary pulmonary tuberculosis may later become fibrotic or sucked in and lead to complete recovery. It happens that in the area of the infiltration a cheese-like necrosis is formed, which in turn leads to the formation of changes giving the image of cavernous tuberculosis. Occasionally, infiltrative and serous lesions may expand, giving the appearance of tuberculous pneumonia. Moreover, the lesions may be accompanied by changes in the surrounding lymph nodes.
IMPORTANT! Patients with cavernous and serous lesions are usually the source of infection!
Diagnosis of post-primary pulmonary tuberculosis
The diagnosis of the disease, determination of its type and the degree of advancement of the resulting changes requires medical and radiological examinations. Sometimes a bacteriological examination of the sputum is necessary.
1. Physical examination. In its course, the general condition of the patient and the severity of the disease are assessed. In addition, during the examination, asymmetry of the chest may be revealed.
2. Radiological examination. It reveals the presence of single or confluent nodules, parenchymal infiltrates, and cavernous lesions that suggest disintegration. One hundred percent confirmation of the accuracy of the radiological image requires additional bacteriological tests. In our country, thanks to microbiological tests, confirmation of pulmonary tuberculosis is obtained in almost 60% of newly detected cases. In the remaining patients, tuberculosis is diagnosed without bacteriological examination, based on the clinical and radiological picture.
3. Bacteriological examinationconsisting of: colorimetric and radioisotope methods; growing mycobacteria on an enriched medium; looking for mycobacteria in the sputum under a microscope; genetic method, e.g. polymerase chain reaction – PCR.
How to treat primary pulmonary tuberculosis?
Primary pulmonary tuberculosis is treated simultaneously with several preparations to which mycobacteria are sensitive. Among the bactericidal drugs, the following are recommended:
- streptomycyna,
- izoniazyd,
- ryfampicyna.
WARNING! Tuberculosis is much more severe in AIDS patients.
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