Clinical Tuberculosis: Presentation and Diagnostic Approach.

Authors

Federico Fama, Jessica Potter, Emily Shaw, Conor Tweed, Marc Lipman

Published in

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. Sep 21, 2026. Epub Sep 21, 2026.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) in adults can present in multiple ways. The lung is the most common site of disease, with cough, hemoptysis, weight loss, and night sweats as the most frequent symptoms. Extrapulmonary involvement, which may present many years after exposure, can affect virtually any organ. Microbiological sampling is key to confirming the diagnosis, but invasive procedures may be necessary to obtain adequate samples. Molecular diagnostics have become a cornerstone of clinical practice, enabling rapid species identification and detection of drug resistance. In immunocompromising conditions, like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, TB presentation is often atypical and requires a high index of clinical suspicion and may trigger paradoxical inflammatory reactions during otherwise effective treatment. Zoonotic TB, caused predominantly by Mycobacterium bovis, and complications of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy are increasingly recognized clinical entities. Following successful treatment, a significant proportion of TB survivors develop post-TB disease. Early diagnosis, multidisciplinary management, and sustained clinical awareness remain essential to reducing the global burden of this disease.

PMID:
42767800
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.