An Analysis of Two Aged Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

What methods would you choose apart from purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test and culture for acid-fasting bacilli (AFB) to make a clinical diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in an aged patient with possible TB? These are two cases of pulmonary TB, that occurred with persistent low-grade fever, fatigue and anorexia due to a mild toxemia of tuberculosis. A final diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was established on the basis of mild toxemia(low-grade fever), debilitation and characteristic pulmonary CT imaging, free of PPD and interferon-gamma release assay (T-spot). The authors realized that the dosage of anti-tuberculosis drugs should be carefully controlled and the improvement of their overall nutritional status to gain better efficacy is much more needed.