(Shutterstock)Many patients who have successfully completed treatment for tuberculosis may continue to display poor lung function and face the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study in India has indicated. Health researchers who detected a surprisingly high proportion of undiagnosed lung function defects, including COPD, in young non-smokers cured of tuberculosis have recommended lung function screening for all recovered TB patients regardless of their age or smoking history. A study from Chennai a decade ago too had observed that 65 per cent of cured tuberculosis patients had poor residual functions. The Pune study suggests that delays in the treatment of tuberculosis might increase the risk of airway obstruction. “Whether the lung damage is caused by the TB bacilli or by the immune response to the disease or by both is still speculation,” Gupte said.

Source: The Telegraph June 02, 2019 22:56 UTC