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Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the Elderly

  • Pulmonology and Respiratory Care (D Breen, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Geriatrics Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) remains a diagnostic challenge, particularly in low endemic settings with ageing populations. The impact has both individual and infection control implications.

Recent Findings

Over the past 20 years, progress has been made in trying to improve TB diagnostics. International recommendations for investigation however still rely heavily on the index of suspicion, imaging and ultimately culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis which remains the gold standard for diagnosing TB disease. Recent advances include molecular diagnostics with the ability to rapidly identify TB disease and drug resistance and whole-genome sequencing.

Summary

In this review, we explore the validity of TB diagnostics in the elderly to assist the practicing clinician in the diagnostic workup in this population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, PL6 8DH, UK

    Michael J. Symes, Ben Probyn & Cyrus Daneshvar

  2. Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Lilanganee Telisinghe

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  1. Michael J. Symes
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  2. Ben Probyn
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Correspondence to Cyrus Daneshvar.

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Appendix

Appendix

Search terms in EMBASE

(((exp lung tuberculosis/ OR exp tuberculosis/) OR (TB or tuber*)) AND (exp diagnostic test/ OR exp diagnosis/ OR (diagnos*))) AND (exp “sensitivity and specificity”/ OR exp diagnostic accuracy/ OR exp predictive value/ OR exp validity/ OR (sensitivity or specificity or predictive value*)) AND (exp aged/ OR exp geriatrics/ OR (geriatric* OR elderly or old age))

Search terms in MEDLINE

(((exp Tuberculosis/ OR exp. Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/) OR (TB OR tuber*)) AND (exp Diagnosis/ OR exp. Diagnostic Tests, Routine/ OR (diagnos*))) AND (exp “Sensitivity and Specificity”/ OR exp “Predictive Value of Tests”/ OR (sensitivity OR specificity OR predictive value*)) AND (exp “Aged, 80 and over”/ OR exp Aged/ OR exp Geriatrics/ OR (geriatric* or elderly or old age))

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Symes, M.J., Probyn, B., Daneshvar, C. et al. Diagnosing Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the Elderly. Curr Geri Rep 9, 30–39 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-020-00319-5

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