CD - tuberculosis - part 1 Flashcards
what is the agent for TB (1)
1- mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC)
what is the epidemiology of TB in Canada (1)
1- mostly amongst Indigenous (FNIM) and foreign-born populations
what are risk factors for acquiring TB -
(SDoH - 3;
close contact/facilities- 4;
int’l- 1) (8)
1- precariously housed
2- indigenous populations
3- persons who inject drugs
4- residents of LTC
5- inmates at correctional facilities
6- healthcare workers - HCW
7- close contacts of an active case of pulmonary TB
8- immigrants from countries with high incidence (Afghan, China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam)
what is the reservoir for TB (2)
1- mostly humans
2- rarely, other primates
what is the reservoir for M. Bovis? (2)
1- cattle and some other animals
2- M. bovis is largely eradicated via pasteurization of milk and tuberculin testing of cattle
what is the mode of transmission for TB (2)
1- airborne
2- via inhalation of bacilli-containing droplet nuclei that reach alveoli
what factors increase the probability of TB transmission?*
(‘testing’- 2
‘symptoms’- 1
‘anatomy’- 2
‘environment - person/place/time’- 3)
(8)
*was on practice exam
1- bacterial burden
2- delays in diagnosis and/or effective treatment
3- amount/severity of cough
4- pulmonary TB with cavitary or upper lung zone disease
5- laryngeal TB > pulmonary TB
6- duration of exposure to case (time)
7- (physical) proximity to source case (person)
8- crowding and poorer room ventilation (place)
describe the ‘bacterial burden’ factor increasing TB transmission (1)
1- smear-positive/culture-positive disease is more transmissible than smear-neg/culture-neg disease
describe the ‘laryngeal TB > pulm TB’ factor increasing TB transmission (1)
1- laryngeal TB symptom of hoarseness is linked with inflammation/ulceration of vocal cords, which is MORE contagious than pulm TB
what is the incubation period for TB (1)
1-
2-10 weeks up to decades
what is the period of communicability for TB -
I) start of communicable period:
a) for smear positive and symptomatic (item 1)
b) for smear negative and asymptomatic, and no cavitation on CXR (item 2)
II) when does the communicable period generally end (3abc)
I) start of communicable period:
1- Longer of: 3 months before onset of respiratory symptoms OR 3 months before first positive finding consistent with TB
2- four weeks before first
positive finding consistent with TB
II) end of communicable period - up to:
3a- receipt of 2-4 weeks of antibiotics +
3b- smear-neg x3 +
3c- clinically improving
are young children with TB infectious? (2)
1- no- younger children with TB are rarely infectious
2- because they have few bacilli and often no sputum production
what is the clinical presentation of pulmonary TB (4)
1- chronic cough >3 weeks, from non-productive to productive
2- sputum sometimes with hemoptysis
3- chest pain
4- shortness of breath
what is the presentation of systemic TB symptoms (B symptoms) (4)
1- fever
2- nightsweats
3- weight loss
4- fatigue
what are potential sites for extra-pulmonary TB (5 examples)
1- brain
2- spine
3- bones
4- kidney
5- lymph nodes
could affect other organs
what is an example presentation of extra-pulmonary TB (1)
1- depends on site affected (e.g. spine TB can have back pain)
is non-respiratory (i.e. non-pulm, non-throat) TB contagious? (1)
1- generally not
of people infected with TB, what is the breakdown between those who stay LTBI and those who become active disease:
A: of total people infected
B: of all the people with LTBI
(4)
A: Of total people infected with TB:
1- ~5% will develop active tuberculosis disease within 18 to 24 months
2- about 95% will develop LTBI
B: Of this 95% LTBI people,
3- ~90% will never develop active TB (stay as LTBI)
4- ~5% will have reactivation TB and develop active disease at any point after initial infection
what are the 2 types of tests that identify TB infection (LTBI) (2)
1- tuberculin skin test (TST)
2- Interferon gamma release assay (IGRA)
what is the tuberculin skin test (TST) (1)
1- intradermal injection of purified protein derivative (PPD) from M. tuberculosis
what is the expected reaction in a person after TST has been administered (2)
1- in someone who was previously infected and developed cell-mediated immunity to these antigens, a delayed hypersensitivity reaction occurs within 48 to 72 h
2- reaction will cause localized swelling/ induration of the skin at injection site
what are contraindications to receiving TST (5)
1- those with previous positive blistering reaction at injection site
2- active TB disease
3- documented hx of adequate TB treatment
4- those with current major viral infections (e.g. measles, mumps, varicella)
5- those received live virus vaccine in past 4 weeks (increases likelihood of false negative)
what is considered a positive result interpretation of a TST, read between 48-72h post-injection (3)
1- <5mm is generally negative
2- ≥5 mm may be positive in select populations (e.g. HIV, known contact with active TB case, immunosuppressed)
3- ≥10 mm is positive in any population considered low risk of disease
define TST conversion (2)
1- TST of 10mm or more when an earlier test was <5mm
2- TST conversion occurs within 3-8 weeks of exposure