THE dangers of ignoring tuberculosis and maintaining it untreatable are surely complications. Just like in the variation of diseases, poor adhesion or interruption in the treatment process will confer rise to complications—often viewed as the foremost grounds of death or morbidity among TB patients.
Tuberculosis (TB) is mainly an airborne lung disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, spreading through droplet nuclei produced by patients with infectious tuberculosis.
The disease influenced by the bacteria is called Primary TB. However, dormant bacilli or the inactive bacteria may continue for years before reactivation to turn out into secondary or Postprimary TB. Following infection, the bacilli may propagate and inhabit any part of the body and stay dormant or inactive for months or years. Once the person’s body immunity decreases, he can come down with infection in any part of the body.
Consequently, the nonresponsive to the need of addressing these infections results into unprecedented complications. Hence, Mbata GC and Iroezindu MO wrote a research paper regarding the complications of tuberculosis if maintained untreated.
• Haemoptysis. Haemoptysis simply means coughing out blood, either in blood streak or massive. Death toll cause by this happens in about 5.3 percent of patients with massive haemoptysis. Massive haemoptysis entails coughing 100 to 600 ml in 24 hours. This complication can be obtained from erosion of blood vessel in the TB cavity, rupture of dilated blood vessel—Rasmussen’s aneurysm and aspergilloma formation in an old TB cavity.
• Pleural effusion. This complication can be mild, moderate, or massive. Mild effusion is asymptomatic, meaning showing no symptoms of the disease, while moderate to massive effusion may produce symptoms depending on the rate of fluid accumulation. Medical studies found out these probable symptoms as trachea deviation, stony dullness, straw-colored or hemorrhagic aspirate. Acid-fast bacilli are seen in 10 percent to 25 percent, pleural fluid culture is positive in 25 percent to 75 percent of cases.
• Tuberculosis pericarditis. Tuberculosis pericarditis cases rates fatalities as high as 40 percent in some series. This may also be subacute although acute type with dyspnoea, fever, dull retrosternal pain and pericardial friction rub is possible. This complication may perhaps build up producing cardiac symptoms—cardiac tamponade. This problem is most widespread on elderly and HIV-infected patients.
• Pneumothorax. Impulsive pneumothorax may transpire due to rupture of subpleural bulla. This type is also asymptomatic or unexpected inception of dyspnoea plus pleuritic chest pain. Tension pneumothorax may also grow.
• Cor Pulmonale/COPD. Patients with venerable tuberculosis can develop a cor pulmonale. Symptoms are regularly escalating breathing difficulty, orthopnoea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea and pedal oedema. It might also explain features of right ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure.
• Dysphagia/dysphonia. This is due to complications of TB of the upper airways. It is constantly because of advanced cavitary lesions and is typically seen in advanced PTB. Ulceration may be seen on laryngoscopy. Sputum stain for acid-past bacilli is usually positive.
• Tuberculoma. Tuberculosis meningitis may present as space occupying lesion—tuberculoma. These complication symptoms may include persistent headache, seizures and focal ischaemiea because of the participation of cerebral arteries.
• Paraplegia/paraperesis. This is a shattering complication of TB spondylitis. The early appearance is with low-grade fever, chills, weight loss, and nonspecific constitutional symptoms. This can as well be the initial sign of spinal disease with varying degrees of weakness, nerve-root compression and sensory involvement. Neurologic complications occur prematurely in spinal TB infecting the upper cervical spine and ranges from single nerve palsy to hemiparesis or quadriparesis.
• Gastrointestinal tuberculosis. Gastrointestinal tuberculosis is more ordinary in the developing world. Pathogenic methods included swallowing of sputum with direct seeding, hematogenous spread, and ingestion of milk from cows affected by bovine TB. History of fever, weight loss, anorexia and night sweats are general presenting symptoms. Other symptoms may also include abdominal pain, swelling, obstruction and hematochesia.
• Genitourinary tuberculosis. This complication of tuberculosis is asymptomatic and the disease exposed only after destructive lesions of the kidneys have developed. It may cause ruthless urethral strictures leading to hydronephrosis and renal damage.
In female genital TB affects the fallopian tubes and the endometrium and may lead to infertility, pelvic pain and menstrual abnormalities. In males, TB affects largely the epididymis, producing slightly tender mass. Azospermia or oligospermia may occur.