How to cure the early stage of tuberculosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis - signs in the early stages, symptoms, forms, treatment in adults and prevention. Diagnosis of the initial stage of tuberculosis

Any disease is characterized by certain symptoms and occurs in several stages, the initial stage of tuberculosis is no exception. Detection of pathology at an early stage allows you to avoid infecting other people and carry out effective treatment. The symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis are quite specific, so the main thing is to be attentive to your health.

Tuberculosis is a social disease, since anyone can become the target of the disease, regardless of gender, age, education, or social status. The incidence of this pathology has decreased slightly over the years.

The pathology is caused by mycobacteria that have another name - Koch's bacillus.

Most often, this pathogen affects the lungs, but the focus can also form in other organs:

in bones, joints;
in the intestines;
in the genitourinary system;
in the skin;

With lung pathology, the disease is contagious and released into the environment. But after this, mycobacteria can enter the blood and form secondary lesions infection. Mycobacteria can be detected in the testicles and prostate gland, ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Koch's wand has special conditions survival in the environment: it can be stored for decades in cold water, ice, soil. The death of the pathogen occurs quickly when exposed to sunlight and does not withstand boiling or any high temperatures.

The difficulty is that the symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis initial stage may be confused with a common respiratory illness.

The disease can occur in an active or inactive form; a person is considered contagious only with an active form. In this case, mycobacteria are released into the environment.

Morbidity conditions

In order to get sick, several conditions must be met:

Close contact with a sick person for more than 40 minutes.
Low level of immunity.

With a sufficient level of immunity, even in the case of close contact, the disease will not develop. But if the body is weakened, then fewer mycobacteria will be needed for infection and the spread of the process will be faster.

Early diagnosis of tuberculosis is important, since timely treatment will promote recovery.

After the bacteria enters the body, symptoms do not appear immediately, but after an incubation period. This may take varying amounts of time, usually several months.

The ways of infection with tuberculosis are as follows:

airborne;
nutritional, that is, through food;
contact, very rare way;
through the blood, that is, hematogenous;
from mother to child through the placenta;

If a person has been treated for a disease, but it has already reached advanced stage, then a capsulated focus is formed in the organ, inside which Koch’s sticks are hidden. With a decrease in immunity, this closed form of tuberculosis turns into an open one: the capsule opens and the bacilli begin to come out.

Answering the question of how long a closed form of pathology can last, we can say that if the level of immunity is maintained, this situation can last for years.

Symptoms of tuberculosis at an early stage

Manifestations of the disease are divided into specific and nonspecific. The first group consists of symptoms that are characteristic specifically of damage to this organ. The second manifestations are those that will occur regardless of the organ.

Symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis can be listed as a list:

Cough for more than 3 weeks.
All this time, sputum is produced.
There may be an increase in body temperature to low levels.
Weight loss, weakness.
Sweating for no apparent reason.

Cough with tuberculosis has a peculiar character: a person coughs all the time, as if his throat hurts. The nature of the cough may indicate something is wrong.

The temperature changes its character as the process spreads: first it appears in the evening or under the influence of stress, then it is constant and provokes other infectious processes.

Lung disease is contagious already during the incubation period, when there are no symptoms.

With the spread of the disease, progressive weakness and changes in behavior appear: irritability, a tendency to mood swings. The appearance of hemoptysis indicates the neglect of the process.

If we talk about the extrapulmonary form of tuberculosis, then the symptoms depend on the organ where the focus of mycobacteria has formed. Fever, weakness, irritability are general symptoms, characteristic of any organ affected by tuberculosis.

Specific signs:

This joint pain, muscle and bone in case of bone disease,
With tuberculosis of the female reproductive system, menstruation disorders and hormonal imbalances occur.
When the skin is damaged, seals and chancre appear on it, within which pathogens are localized. They may ulcerate, rupture, or long time remain unchanged.
If tuberculosis of the digestive tract has developed, then diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and pain appear.

How long does the initial stage of tuberculosis last? We can say that it depends on how the infection occurred, how many sticks got inside, what the level of immunity was. This period of lung disease usually lasts several months, so it is important to begin treatment at this stage.

Diagnosis and treatment

Before starting treatment for a disease, you need to make sure that it is a mycobacterial infection.

Even before symptoms appear, the source of pathogens can be randomly identified using an x-ray. At the first stage, tuberculosis can be cured completely, without consequences.

Any biological material contains the pathogen:

sputum due to pulmonary tuberculosis;
urine with damage to the urological tract;
purulent exudate from the joint;
feces with intestinal damage;
pleural effusion;

The question often arises about how long it takes to cure lung disease. Treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis after the first manifestations lasts at least 6 months. There is always a danger of the appearance of an extrapulmonary form of the disease, which should not be allowed under any circumstances.

Here are the directions of therapy:

Antibacterial treatment called chemotherapy for tuberculosis.
General strengthening therapy.
Increased immunity level.
Physiotherapeutic methods.

To be able to eliminate mycobacteria, antibacterial drugs from the “heavy artillery” are used. There are a number of drugs that are active against Koch's bacillus: Isoniazid, Ethambutol, Rifampicin, Streptomycin.

If antibiotic resistance is observed, reserve groups of drugs can be used: pyrazinamide, fluoroquinolones. Sputum culture allows you to determine the sensitivity of the bacilli to a particular type of antibiotic. If the sputum is resistant to several antibiotics, then the disease is treated with 4-5 antibiotics at the same time. Therapy is carried out in this way for at least 3 months. It is possible to understand whether the treatment is effective by analyzing cultures of the corresponding biological material.

Immunomodulators for pulmonary tuberculosis enhance the effect of antibiotics and allow you to quickly cure the disease or keep the disease closed.

Treatment with interferon drugs that increase nonspecific factors immunity.

The disease is treated with physiotherapeutic methods only during the period of remission, that is, in an inactive form.

Tuberculosis is an important medical and social problem our time. According to medical indicators, annually from of this disease 3 million people die, and the incidence rate among the population is 8 million patients per year. The insidiousness of this disease lies in the fact that from the moment of infection by the causative agent of the disease to the acute period of its development, a lot of time can pass, up to several years.

The reason for the increased incidence of tuberculosis among the population is considered to be a decrease in the body’s immune forces, poor quality and unbalanced nutrition, poor social and living conditions, difficult conditions labor and other factors that significantly worsen a person’s quality of life. People of all ages are at risk of developing age categories, from babies and children, to adults and seniors. Despite the high mortality rate from this disease, it is still treatable, especially in the initial stages of its development. Therefore, it is very important to identify tuberculosis - symptoms and first signs. Only then will there be a chance for successful recovery and prevention of development chronic form and complications that can be life-threatening.

Tuberculosis - what kind of disease?

This is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that can infect both respiratory system, as well as other internal organs and systems of humans. The causative agent of tuberculosis is the bacterium Mycobacterium (Koch bacillus), which is most often transmitted by airborne droplets, less often by contact with an infected person or by the transplacental route.

Koch bacterium is resistant to external environment, as well as to high temperature conditions. For example, in water this microorganism can maintain its vital activity for 60 days, and on the surface of household objects for about four weeks. In a cold environment or in a frozen state, the stick can live for decades. The entrance gates for pathogen penetration are Airways. After initial penetration into the bronchial mucosa, the microorganism enters the alveoli, then penetrates the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body. If a person has had close contact with someone who has tuberculosis, this does not mean that he will definitely become infected with it.

Entering the human body, the tuberculosis bacillus encounters multiple barriers of the immune system that can protect us from exposure foreign organism. In cases where a person’s immunity is weakened, there is a risk of getting sick or becoming a carrier of Koch bacilli. After microorganisms penetrate the human body, they may remain in an inactive form for a long time. In addition, it is not so easy to suspect the signs, because this disease is one of those that often resembles completely different diseases. According to medical indicators, a third of tuberculosis patients are early stages do not experience any symptoms, which in turn complicates the course and treatment of the disease. Therefore, it is very important to recognize the first sign; this will significantly increase the chance of curing a person and preventing transition to more severe stages, which often lead to fatal outcome.

Tuberculosis: causes

The main cause of the development of the disease is considered to be the Koch microbacterium, which, after entering the human body, may not manifest itself for a long time. Bacteria are activated when the immune system human does not have enough resources to destroy pathogen. It is not a highly contagious disease, but as shown modern research, 1 bacilli shedding agent can infect about 15 people. It is important to note that becoming infected does not mean getting sick. It all depends on the state of the person’s immune system, concomitant diseases, as well as lifestyle. There are several predisposing factors to development:

drug use;
smoking;
alcohol abuse;
predisposition to diseases of the respiratory system;
diabetes;
poor nutrition;
frequent depression and stress;
internal chronic diseases;
unfavorable living conditions.

Based on the above factors, we can conclude that all of them are in one way or another associated with impaired and decreased immunity.

Signs of tuberculosis

After the stick penetrates the body, it is embedded in lung tissue, where they begin to actively reproduce, causing inflammatory process. At the beginning of the disease, an infected person does not experience significant symptoms.

In the first stages of development, a person may feel a loss of strength, a sharp loss of weight, night sweats. There is no increase in temperature in the initial stages, and there is also no cough. Cough and fever are observed only when the pathogen has entered the bloodstream and extensively affected the lung tissue. The erased picture of tuberculosis at the beginning of its development, as a rule, does not cause suspicion in a person, and the disease, in turn, progresses, acquiring new stages of development, which force them to consult a doctor.

Stages of tuberculosis

This disease, like any other, has its own stages of development:

The primary form is the period of development when the pathogen is in the lungs;
Latent infection is a hidden period that prevents an infected person from infecting other people;
Active disease or open form is contagious to others;
The secondary stage of the disease - the microorganism is aggressive and spreads throughout the body.

Based on the practice of phthisiatricians, most people have a latent form of tuberculosis, when the Koch bacillus is in the body, but does not cause any discomfort to the person. Quite a portion of the primary type passes into the open form. For this, the bacteria will need up to 2 years of residence in the human body. In addition, in order for the wand to actively multiply and go through new stages, there must be provoking factors. At strong immunity And healthy body, the tuberculosis bacillus does not have the opportunity to multiply, and dies a few days or weeks after settling in the respiratory system.

Symptoms of tuberculosis

Clinical signs do not appear immediately, but only when the causative agent of the disease has penetrated the bloodstream or affected most of the lungs. At first, the symptoms of tuberculosis are mild, but as the disease progresses, they become more pronounced. The main features in acute period The following symptoms are considered:

cough with sputum production that lasts more than 3 weeks;
admixture in blood in sputum;
temperature rise to subfebrile;
weight loss;
increased fatigue;
lack of appetite;
sudden mood changes;
increased irritability;
decreased performance.

The cough with tuberculosis is usually wet and frequent, especially in the morning. People who smoke perceive this cough as a “smoker's cough,” but they should not take it for granted. If at least 1-2 symptoms appear, it is better to consult a doctor and make sure that you do not have this disease.

In cases where the disease develops more aggressively, the following symptoms may be present:

increase in body temperature to 38-39°C;
pain under the sternum;
shoulder pain;
painful, dry and hard cough;
sweating during sleep.

The above symptoms may also be present in other diseases, so there is no need to worry prematurely; it is better to seek help from a doctor who, after examining the patient and collecting anamnesis, will be able to make a diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Symptoms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis

The pathogen can affect not only the lungs, but also other internal organs of a person. In such cases, we will talk about the extrapulmonary type. Damage to any internal organ or system with Koch's wand is difficult to recognize, so the diagnosis of internal organs is most often made after excluding other pathologies. Symptoms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis depend on the location of the disease and the organ affected.

Tuberculosis of the brain - develops slowly, more often in children or sick people diabetes mellitus or HIV infection. This form of the disease is characterized by increased body temperature, sleep disturbance, nervousness, enlarged neck muscles, back pain when stretching the legs or tilting the head forward. This form can manifest itself in all sorts of disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system.
Tuberculosis of the digestive organs - characterized by periodic violation stool, bloating, pain in the intestines, blood in the stool, high temperature body up to 40 degrees.
Tuberculosis of bones and joints is rare and is manifested by pain in the affected areas of the body and limited joint mobility. This form difficult to distinguish from other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Organ tuberculosis genitourinary system– affects the kidneys and pelvic organs. Characterized by back pain, increased body temperature, frequent and painful urination, the presence of blood in the urine.
Skin tuberculosis - manifests itself in the form of skin rashes that quickly spread throughout the body, forming dense nodules that burst over time.

The microorganism can also infect other organs and systems, but it can be identified by clinical signs difficult and almost impossible. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis develops when the pathogen enters the bloodstream and spreads through the bloodstream throughout the entire body, infiltrating one of the internal organs or systems of the human body. The prognosis after treatment of extrapulmonary tuberculosis depends on many factors: the location of the pathogen, the degree and stage of the affected organ, as well as general health and other factors. Therefore, it is difficult to answer the question of what the prognosis is after treatment.

How to recognize tuberculosis

It is impossible to determine the pathogen without examination results, therefore, if this disease is suspected, the doctor prescribes a series of tests that will help identify the pathogen and determine the stage of the disease. Diagnosis consists of a collected patient’s medical history, a study of the medical history, as well as the results of examinations such as:

The Mantoux test is a simple way to identify the tuberculosis bacillus. If a person is sick, then the test reaction will appear within 72 hours. The mantoux test will show whether an infection is present in the human body, but many experts in the field of phthisiology believe this method The research is very inaccurate.
Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) – informative method diagnostics, which allows 98% to identify the tuberculosis bacillus. In this case, the patient's sputum is examined.
Chest X-ray - allows you to identify the source of inflammation of the infection in the lungs.

The results of the examination allow the doctor to draw up full picture diseases, identify the pathogen, determine the degree and stage of the disease, and prescribe treatment. It is important to note that in the initial stages of development it responds well to treatment, which cannot be said about chronic forms.

How to treat tuberculosis?

As practice shows, it is possible to be cured, but the most important thing is to detect it in a timely manner and strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations, take the medications prescribed by him throughout the entire course of treatment. Treatment of tuberculosis should be complex and long-term, from several months to several years. It is considered important to take antibacterial drugs, the action of which is aimed at destroying the pathogenic pathogen. Usually the doctor prescribes several antibiotics that need to be taken for several months, as well as anti-tuberculosis drugs, probiotics, vitamin therapy and immunostimulants. In addition to reception medicines, patients need special diet and physical therapy.

Drug treatment lasts up to 6 months or more. During this period, the sick person is in a tuberculosis clinic. This isolation of the patient avoids infecting other people. After treatment, a person periodically visits a doctor, takes necessary tests and does examinations, and is also registered at the dispensary. If the doctor has prescribed a course of treatment for 6 months, then it is necessary to complete it in its entirety, otherwise stopping treatment therapy may lead to relapse of the disease and its progression.

It's important to note that incorrect treatment, as well as an incomplete course of medical therapy, lead to transformation of the disease, which in turn leads to a relapse of the disease and its transition to severe and incurable forms, ending in death.

Despite the development of treatment and diagnostic methods, in the 21st century tuberculosis remains one of the most common and dangerous diseases. According to statistics, it kills 3 million people per year. The insidiousness of the disease is manifested in the fact that from the moment of infection to the transition to acute form Months and sometimes years pass. To notice the problem on early stages, you need to know the signs of tuberculosis in adults, listen to the signals that the body gives.

Causes of the disease

The cause of the disease is entry into the human body pathogenic bacteria- Koch sticks. This microorganism can for a long time live in a human body without manifesting itself in any way. Its activation and reproduction begin when the immune system fails.

Factors that provoke the development of the disease include the following:

drug use;
bad habits (smoking, alcoholism);
metabolic disorders;
unbalanced diet;
constant stress;
predisposition to respiratory diseases;
unsatisfactory sanitary and hygienic living conditions.

The period when the Koch bacillus lives in the body, but does not manifest itself in any way, is called incubation. During this time, bacteria are exposed constant attacks immune forces. If they cope with their tasks well, the microorganisms die and the person remains healthy.

If the immune system fails, then approximately three months after the bacteria enters the body incubation period ends. The first symptoms of the disease appear, which will be similar to the signs of a common ARVI.

As the disease progresses clinical picture becomes brighter. Shortness of breath appears with tuberculosis and other syndromes that make it possible to suspect something is wrong. Often it is cough and breathing problems, elements of blood among the sputum that frighten the patient and force him to go to the doctor for examination.

First signs

How does pulmonary tuberculosis manifest itself in the initial stages of development? At first, the infected person does not notice any changes in the body. Gradually, Koch bacilli begin to actively multiply in the tissues of the lungs, provoking an inflammatory process.

The first ones appear characteristic symptoms:

weakness, lethargy, depression;
weight loss;
increased sweating at night;
deterioration in the quality of night sleep;
causeless dizziness;
paleness of the skin, the appearance of a permanent blush on the cheeks;
loss of appetite.

In the early stages, there is a constant temperature, coughing up blood, and other characteristic symptoms of the disease. These signs appear later when bacteria enter the blood.

As a rule, the first symptoms of the disease do not cause a person to worry or want to see a doctor. This wastes precious time during which the disease progresses. dangerous forms. As a rule, patients come for examination when additional, more “eloquent” signs appear.

How to detect tuberculosis at the initial stage? It is necessary to pay attention to such characteristic signs as periodic causeless increases in temperature, increased fatigue, and mood swings. If any of these factors bother you for three weeks or more, you need to visit a therapist. You should not explain the loss of strength by workload at work or failures on the personal front: this way you allow the illness to progress and develop into dangerous forms.

How to detect tuberculosis in late stages?

So how can you identify it? Tuberculosis symptoms become more pronounced when Koch bacilli have entered the blood and the disease has affected a significant part of the lungs. The further the disease progresses, the more clear signs she shows herself.

These include the following:

persistent cough;
shortness of breath, which gradually increases after infection with tuberculosis, occurs even with minor physical activity;

wheezing, noted by the doctor when listening (dry or wet);
hemoptysis due to tuberculosis;
pain chest, manifested during deep breaths or at rest;
elevated temperature body: up to 37 degrees or more;
painful shine in the eyes, pallor, blush on the cheeks.

The temperature with tuberculosis usually rises at night. Fever occurs, the thermometer can show up to 38 degrees.

Symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in adults, which appeared in the early stages, persist. This is a decrease in appetite, sudden unmotivated weight loss (15 kg or more), weakness, increased fatigue, and apathy. The patient notes increased irritability, his performance decreases.

What is a cough like with tuberculosis? There are three key characteristics:

Dry cough, which bothers the patient mainly in the morning and at night.
Expectoration of wet sputum.
The cough does not go away for three weeks or more, despite the self-medication methods used.

A characteristic sign of tuberculosis infection is hemoptysis. It occurs when the disease affects the lungs and damages blood vessels. When the patient coughs, a small amount of fresh blood is released along with the sputum. If its amount per day exceeds 50 ml, pulmonary hemorrhage occurs.

Stages of disease development

Signs of pulmonary tuberculosis vary depending on the stage of development of the disease. Doctors distinguish four stages of its progression:

Primary lesion
Koch's bacillus enters the human body for the first time. This stage is typical for newborns and people with weakened immune systems. Any severe symptoms absent, vague signs of intoxication appear. Body temperature stays at 37 degrees or more for a long time.
Latent tuberculosis
The symptoms of the closed form of tuberculosis are mild, they are similar to the manifestations of ARVI or a cold. The patient's body actively fights the infection and suppresses it. A person is not contagious. During the development period closed tuberculosis There may be a periodic slight increase in temperature, increased fatigue, and apathy.
Active disease
In the open form of tuberculosis, the symptoms appear in full force: a person is bothered by a cough, hemoptysis that occurs when bleeding in the bronchi, fever, weakness, loss of appetite, etc. This stage is dangerous for others: the patient becomes a carrier of infection, he is able to infect other people.
Relapse of tuberculosis (secondary disease)
At unfavorable conditions a previously cured disease is reborn. Bacteria “awaken” in old lesions or a new infection occurs. The disease occurs in an open form. There are signs of intoxication of the body and bronchopulmonary manifestations. Treatment of recurrent tuberculosis requires long-term and powerful effects.

In order for the primary form of the disease to transform into an open one, the pathogen must human body more than two years. For its reproduction there must be provoking factors. If they are not there and the immune system is working well, a few days or weeks after entering the respiratory system.

Video

Video - how to identify tuberculosis?

Symptoms of the extrapulmonary form of the disease

The disease can affect not only the lungs, so special attention should be paid to the signs of tuberculosis in the extrapulmonary form. Symptoms depend on the organ in which the pathogen has settled. The following options exist:

Brain damage

This form of the disease most often develops in childhood or in an adult with diabetes or HIV infection.

The main symptoms of the problem are:

headaches localized in the frontal and occipital lobes;
decreased performance;
apathy;
deterioration in sleep quality, frequent nightmares;
decreased appetite.

Sweating in tuberculosis, which occurs at night, is another characteristic feature progression of the disease. As the disease progresses, dangerous symptoms– nausea and vomiting, tension in the neck muscles, specific body postures, distortion of facial expressions, squint, etc.

If the symptoms and treatment of the disease are determined in a timely manner, the prognosis for the patient is favorable. This is achieved thanks to new generation anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Gastrointestinal lesions

The patient feels pain in the digestive organs, loss of appetite, nausea, constant fatigue, lethargy, increased sweating at night. If the disease has affected the intestines, there are false urges to defecation, stool disorders, blood in the stool. If Koch's bacillus is localized in the stomach area, constant thirst, belching appears, and the person suddenly loses weight. The temperature during tuberculosis in the gastrointestinal tract can rise to 40 degrees.

Damage to joints and bones

This rare form a disease whose symptoms are similar to those of arthritis and arthrosis. The patient experiences pain when physical activity, the range of motion of the affected limbs is limited.

Skin lesions

This infectious process, which captures the dermis, epidermis and fatty tissue.

To his characteristic manifestations the following applies:

the appearance of rashes;
excessive dry skin;
frequent manifestations of allergies;
decreased immunity;
fatigue, lethargy of the patient.

In the initial stages, it is possible to develop tuberculosis without fever, then it rises to 37-38 degrees.

Damage to the genitourinary organs

Koch's bacillus is localized in the kidneys or bladder. Patients feel constant fatigue, apathy, and complain of bad dream, loss of appetite. arise aching pain V lumbar region, urination becomes difficult or, conversely, too frequent, accompanied by unpleasant sensations.

According to statistics, extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis account for 10% of all cases of infection. However, their development has dangerous consequences, even death. Therefore, it is important to listen to what signals your body is giving and consult a doctor in time.

Methods for diagnosing tuberculosis

Get infected dangerous illness Any person can do it, regardless of age and social status. Recognizing latent tuberculosis, the pulmonary or extrapulmonary form of the disease, is not easy, because the symptoms are similar to those of other pathologies. Diagnosis requires special studies.

Initially, the patient comes to see the doctor and expresses complaints. Special attention deserves a cough due to pulmonary tuberculosis that does not go away for more than 3 weeks, weight loss, shortness of breath, decreased performance. The doctor finds out whether it was from someone in his immediate circle, whether there is a relapse of tuberculosis or whether the infection occurred initially.

Based on the examination data, no conclusions can be drawn; one can only suspect the disease. For intermediate in adults, an x-ray is recommended, which will show whether there are foci of infection and how they are localized.

The Mantoux test is recommended for examining children.. It's lightweight and safe method exposure that does not lead to irradiation of the body. Tuberculin is injected into the child's forearm and the results are taken after three days. If the test gives a positive result, there are grounds for further diagnosis.

X-ray and Mantoux are not grounds for staging final diagnosis. More research is needed.

These include tests:

sputum;
blood;
urine.

Having received the results of all examinations and comparing with them the characteristic symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in women and men, the doctor puts accurate diagnosis. Its task is to determine the resistance of the pathogen to certain medical drugs and appoint effective methods therapeutic effects.

Open tuberculosis is a disease that is dangerous not only for the patient himself, but also for the people around him.

With absence proper treatment it can be fatal. Modern methods therapy allows you to cope with a serious illness, the most important thing is to consult a doctor in time and follow all his recommendations and instructions.

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Tuberculosis - one of the most dangerous and difficult infectious diseases. How long pulmonary tuberculosis is treated depends on the stage, form and severity of the disease.

The shortest duration of treatment is four months. This is at the most favorable forecasts and mild pathology. Those who have encountered this disease know how long and difficult it is to treat tuberculosis, and how much time it takes for rehabilitation.

Therefore, it is so important to undergo regular medical examinations, because identifying this disease in the early stages significantly reduces treatment time and makes the task easier for doctors.

The need to place a tuberculosis patient in a hospital is due to several factors.

Firstly, tuberculosis is extremely contagious disease, transmitted even through short-term contact. The greatest danger is . The need to isolate such patients is dictated by the prevention of an epidemic.

Secondly, patients diagnosed with tuberculosis require constant control from the narrow medical specialists different profiles. The hospital has the opportunity to monitor the patient’s condition by doctors such as a phthisiatrician, a pulmonologist, and an infectious disease specialist. If the tuberculosis process extends beyond the lungs, consultation with other doctors may be required.

Treatment in a hospital allows for an intermediate assessment of the dynamics of the disease at each stage of therapy.

Also in the conditions of specialized medical institution There are every opportunity to provide, if necessary, immediate assistance in case of a complicated course of the disease.

Duration of inpatient treatment

How much and how tuberculosis is treated depends on the form in which tuberculosis occurs in a particular patient.

In most cases, intensive release of pathogens into the environment by the patient stops after two months of treatment. Then the need for isolation disappears, and the decision to keep the patient in a hospital setting is made based on the severity of his condition.

In order to speed up recovery, the patient may be advised to undergo further sanatorium-resort treatment.

The main condition successful treatment tuberculosis is A complex approach using all currently available means. In addition to anti-tuberculosis treatment, the patient is prescribed drugs to relieve symptoms, immunomodulators, expectorants, painkillers and other drugs.

In addition to drug therapy, physiotherapy methods and classes with an instructor are used physical therapy. In addition, it is necessary to adhere to a daily routine, a certain diet, and also refuse bad habits. Realize complex therapy and it is easiest to monitor the patient’s compliance with doctors’ orders in a hospital setting.

Duration of conservative treatment

Treatment of tuberculosis in a hospital is carried out with the help of anti-tuberculosis drugs, the main of which today is isoniazid. Various medications have been developed for use in different combinations and dosages, standard or determined in each case individually.

At the moment, the order of the Ministry of Health regulates the use of four standard circuits chemotherapy, varying in intensity, duration and combination of drugs.

Therapy for the primary form of tuberculosis, as well as disseminated or with a large area of damage, but with negative MBT data, takes six or seven months. Intensive drug therapy is carried out in within three months, a complex of four drugs is used.

After this course, diagnostics are carried out to assess the dynamics of the tuberculosis process. If the dynamics are positive and mycobacteria are not cultured in the sputum, the next course of drugs is prescribed. If the resistance of mycobacteria to anti-tuberculosis drugs has not increased, then a complex of isoniazid and rifampicin is used.

IN otherwise use alternative drugs. If mycobacteria are initially resistant, the course of treatment is lengthened due to the need for treatment with less effective drugs.

In cases reinfection, relapses, and also if an ineffective regimen was initially prescribed, which was confirmed by research, intensive treatment with a complex of at least five drugs is used. This stage continues for two months, and a complex of four drugs is used for another month.

If after three months therapy, mycobacteria are sown in sputum, and their drug resistance is discovered, then the treatment regimen is changed.

Alternative drugs are added to drugs to which sensitivity still remains. medications. In this case, the treatment period is increased by three months. The total duration of treatment is nine months.

Treatment of patients with minor lesions, as well as those in whom mycobacteria are not cultured in the sputum, continues for six months. Intensive course drug therapy lasts two months using a complex of four main drugs. Treatment continues with two drugs, usually isoniazid and rifampicin.

Treatment of multidrug-resistant patients continues for at least a year. Therapy is based on individual data on the resistance of mycobacteria, a complex is selected alternative drugs in each specific case. The intensive stage of therapy in such cases reaches six months; continuation of treatment is selected based on the data obtained during the interim diagnosis.

Surgery

In some cases, it is not possible to cure tuberculosis through conservative therapy, and radical methods are required.

Surgical intervention can be carried out either planned or urgently. Urgent operations for patients with tuberculosis are performed when massive pulmonary hemorrhage occurs or spontaneous tension pneumothorax develops. With such progression pathological process We are talking about saving the patient's life.

Surgery is indicated when drug therapy is ineffective. In some cases, the pulmonary tuberculosis process causes morphological changes in the affected organs, requiring surgical removal.

Except urgent cases requiring immediate surgery, surgery tuberculosis is preceded by a course of chemotherapy. Also, a course of medications is prescribed after surgery.

The operation for tuberculosis lasts about three hours, its duration depends on the type and complexity of the intervention, and the patient’s condition. Recovery period after surgery can range from six months to a year.

Treatment of children

Children are treated for tuberculosis using gentle methods. The complex is used therapeutic activities, including drug treatment, exercise therapy, breathing exercises, physiotherapy methods and other techniques.

As a rule, a complex of two or three anti-tuberculosis drugs is prescribed in optimal quantities for child's body dosages, means to relieve symptoms, support immunity, taking vitamins. Children are shown enhanced nutrition, massage, showers and other methods aimed at improving lung function.

Regeneration in early age takes a shorter period of time than in adults, but it is necessary to take into account the needs of the growing body.

Treatment can last from four months to a year in order to full recovery and developing resistance to the effects of the pathogen.

Treatment of the elderly

The peculiarities and duration of treatment for older people are due to the fact that all processes proceed more slowly with age. In addition to anti-tuberculosis medications, hormonal drugs, symptomatic treatment.

Much attention is paid to restoring the immune system. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that in older people the number of concomitant diseases increases with age. They also need therapy and its adequate combination with anti-tuberculosis drugs.

It cannot be said that the duration of treatment increases the older the patient is. It also takes into account general state the patient, the presence and severity of concomitant diseases, as well as the stage and form of the tuberculosis process.

However, it can be argued that in general, treatment of tuberculosis in older people takes longer, including the rehabilitation period, and lasts from eight months to a year.

Rehabilitation period

Duration rehabilitation period depends on how severe it was previous illness, on the methods of treatment used and many other factors. How many days will it take for the patient to return to full life depends on himself.

Besides medical rehabilitation, aimed at restoring immunity and lost body functions, if this happens, the patient requires psychological rehabilitation.

If the functionality of some systems or organs cannot be restored in full, the patient needs to adapt to new living conditions and restrictions that have arisen as a result of loss of functions.

Tuberculosis has long been considered in medicine as one of the most common and dangerous diseases. Despite all the achievements modern science, the disease cannot be defeated, and people continue to die from it every year. The disease is insidious in its unpredictability; it has several behavior patterns.

Depending on the various circumstances tuberculosis infection may go unnoticed or cause serious problems with health, even death.

Is tuberculosis contagious and how contagious? Let’s look at this in more detail.

The degree of danger depends on the form and stage in which the disease is determined in a person. The most dangerous is. Disease in closed form(latent) has less ability to transmit infection to the external environment.

Having invaded the body, mycobacteria may not manifest itself for years. The person is completely unaware that his condition poses a threat to others—his health does not give any signals of an “invasion.” Meanwhile, the infection begins to slowly but methodically spread throughout internal organs– tuberculosis intoxication of the body occurs.

Harmful bacteria travel through the cells through the bloodstream, choosing the most unprotected organs to stop. human body. Having gained a foothold in convenient location, mycobacteria begin their destructive work.

From this moment on, a person is considered a carrier of tuberculosis, and he becomes especially dangerous to society.

If the body is strong, the immune system is mobilized to fight the aggressor. Weak immunity If you are unable to cope with Koch's wand on your own, you will need long-term and serious treatment.

Tuberculosis begins its development with the formation of primary affect in the affected area. Koch bacilli are captured by macrophages (special cells capable of aggressively capturing other bacteria, particles of dead cells, and other microparticles harmful to the body), penetrating into the lymphatic system.

Mycobacteria have two routes of penetration into organs: lymphogenous or hematogenous.

In the affected areas, a granulomatous process begins to develop: focal necrosis forms in the central part, surrounded by lymphocytes, macrophages, and epithelial cells. The result of granuloma is sclerosis.

In medicine, it is customary to divide the disease into pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms. The first is the most common, the second is numerous and has many variations.

Tuberculosis at the beginning of its journey: how contagious is the initial form of the disease?

There is an opinion that in the embryonic state the infection is quite harmless and tuberculosis infection cannot occur - the bacilli are still too weak and have a short-term effect on the body. However, this is not entirely true. It all depends on the form of manifestation of the disease, which regulates the degree of its contagiousness.

There is no clear answer to the question of whether tuberculosis is transmitted at the initial stage. First of all, it is necessary to understand which phase is considered the initial one: the actual introduction of mycobacteria into organs, or its infiltrative form.

If the definition means the first option, the starting point of tuberculosis is not terrible. In addition, the disease may not manifest itself in any way throughout the life of the infected person.

Another thing - infiltrative phase. This stage is highly contagious because hallmark This phase is characterized by a cough that sprays droplets of sputum into the environment.

The initial stage, even in its most harmless form - serious reason emphasize on own health so as not to miss the possible moment of overflow of non-dangerous, “dormant” tuberculosis into active form with the most serious consequences.

“Risk groups”: who is at risk from Koch’s wand

Just a few years ago, it was believed that only disadvantaged segments of the population get sick with tuberculosis - prisoners in prison, people without a fixed place of residence and other citizens leading an asocial lifestyle.

The disease in such cases had an open, long-standing form and was maximally contagious to the environment of the carrier.

Often the disease was detected in people in difficult living conditions with low incomes and socially vulnerable people. However, recently mycobacteria have begun to be diagnosed in quite healthy people. It turned out that no one is protected from tuberculosis - the disease is so tenacious and omnivorous.

Diabetics, people with gastrointestinal diseases, as well as in the case of constant hormonal treatment should be especially attentive to the possibility of “acquiring” the disease.

The most “infectious” forms of the disease

If the diagnosis is accurately established, the first thing that interests the sick person and his everyday environment is whether the detected disease is contagious or not, how successfully it is cured.

The most dangerous diseases include open tuberculosis lungs. This variety poses a health threat not only to the carrier itself, but also to everyone who somehow comes into contact with him in everyday life.

IN in this case the highest ability of mycobacteria to infect everyone within a radius of several tens of meters from the owner of the Koch bacillus is observed.

Transmission of pulmonary infection occurs by airborne droplets, when a sick person coughs or sneezes.

It “distributes” many tiny tuberculosis bacilli into the environment and soil from infected sputum, which is spat out by the carrier of the disease.

Tuberculosis is insidious and infectious, having “made a nest” in other organs: kidneys, bone tissue, lymphatic system, genitals. The number of people infected with extrapulmonary species is somewhat less than those with pulmonary tuberculosis, however, even here frequent results are severe complications and death.

Infection can be avoided: measures to prevent tuberculosis

Unfortunately, even the most experienced and titled doctor is unable to guarantee protection against tuberculosis infection - the area of spread of the infection is too large. However, a few useful pieces of knowledge can help you take steps to protect yourself from this serious disease.

Firstly, try to avoid direct contact with carriers of open tuberculosis. If contact is unavoidable (in case of illness among family members), it is not always possible to completely eliminate the risk of infection. In this case, you must carefully follow the recommendations of the doctor treating the sick relative.

The room must be ventilated and disinfected—mycobacterium tuberculosis retains its ability to infect for quite a long time. The patient must be allocated individual use dishes, personal hygiene items.

Second rule - V in public places It is necessary to stay away from fellow citizens who are coughing or sneezing, especially if saliva is freely sprayed into the air.

The listed measures can reduce the possibility of contracting an infection, but a more significant guarantee is timely vaccinations against tuberculosis, regular visits to the fluorography room and timely treatment detected tuberculosis.