{"title":"Geriatric Tuberculosis in India: Emerging challenges and practical perspectives.","authors":"Ashok Kumar Pannu","doi":"10.1177/00494755251362095","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Geriatric tuberculosis (TB) is an emerging but under-recognized challenge in India. Older adults often present with atypical or advanced disease, leading to delayed diagnosis, treatment complications, and increased mortality. While pulmonary TB is common, extrapulmonary and disseminated forms are also frequent. Diagnosis is hindered by non-specific symptoms and reduced microbiological yield, and treatment is complicated by co-morbidity, polypharmacy, and poor adherence. Despite elevated risk, older adults are not prioritized under current TB preventive strategies. This review highlights the unique clinical features, diagnostic limitations, and management challenges of TB in older adults, emphasizing the need for age-responsive TB control strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":49415,"journal":{"name":"Tropical Doctor","volume":" ","pages":"494755251362095"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Tropical Doctor","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00494755251362095","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Geriatric tuberculosis (TB) is an emerging but under-recognized challenge in India. Older adults often present with atypical or advanced disease, leading to delayed diagnosis, treatment complications, and increased mortality. While pulmonary TB is common, extrapulmonary and disseminated forms are also frequent. Diagnosis is hindered by non-specific symptoms and reduced microbiological yield, and treatment is complicated by co-morbidity, polypharmacy, and poor adherence. Despite elevated risk, older adults are not prioritized under current TB preventive strategies. This review highlights the unique clinical features, diagnostic limitations, and management challenges of TB in older adults, emphasizing the need for age-responsive TB control strategies.
期刊介绍：
The only journal written by and for health workers in low and middle-income countries, Tropical Doctor provides medical expertise and practical advice on how to apply current medical knowledge to the special circumstances of LMIC countries. This journal provides an ideal forum for sharing experiences and establishing best practice, aiding communication between medical professionals in different environments.
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