Tuberculosis Screening and Diagnosis

Screening and Diagnosis of Tuberculosis

• Screening involves identifying Presumptive PTB through clinical signs and symptoms or chest x-ray, followed by diagnosis of active PTB disease.

Case Finding

• Case finding is a systematic screening implemented outside health facilities, targeting high-risk populations or settings.
• Screening examinations or procedures, such as chest x-ray, are brought to the community.

Types of Case Finding

• Active Case Finding: Systematic screening in health facilities among all consults.
• Intensified Case Finding: Systematic screening in the community using symptoms screening, such as house-to-house visits by community workers.
• Enhanced Case Finding: A more comprehensive approach to case finding.

Presumptive PTB

• Presumptive PTB is identified by the presence of at least two weeks of the following symptoms:
  • Cough
  • Unexplained fever
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Night sweat
• Alternatively, chest findings suggestive of TB can also indicate presumptive PTB.

Close Contact and Index Case

• Close Contact: A person who shared an enclosed space with the index case for extended periods within the day, during the 3 months before TB diagnosis.
• Index Case: The initially identified TB case of any age in a specific household or comparable setting.

This quiz covers the identification and diagnosis of presumptive TB cases, including case finding and active case finding methods.