Can TB be misdiagnosed as pneumonia?

It is not uncommon for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) to be misdiagnosed as pneumonia, particularly in the acute phase when they both present identically. Between five and ten per cent of infected people not receiving treatment for latent TB infection will develop TB during their lives.

Is tuberculosis similar to pneumonia?

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is the most common, which can mainly cause lung injury and tubercles. PTB is a typical chronic consumptive disease, but it can present as an acute pneumonia. Acute tuberculous pneumonia (TP) is similar to typical bacterial pneumonia, and it is one of the causes of childhood illness [2].

What can be misdiagnosed as pneumonia?

Serious medical conditions sometimes mistaken for pneumonia include:

• Acute respiratory distress / failure.
• Bronchitis.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Heart attack.
• Legionnaire’s disease.
• Measles.
• Myocarditis / pericarditis.
• Pulmonary edema.

How do you distinguish between TB and pneumonia when diagnosing patients?

Based on presentation and findings on CXR, TB can mimic a variety of pneumonias: typical, atypical, aspiration. It can classically be distinguished from these based on a longer duration of symptoms and more systemic symptoms such as weight loss, and night sweats.

Can pneumonia be something else?

Mycoplasma, Legionnaire’s, and another infection, Chlamydia pneumoniae, all cause a syndrome known as atypical pneumonia, or “walking pneumonia” (a term that is rarely used today).

Is XRAY accurate for pneumonia?

However, sensitivity and specificity of CXR in pneumonia detection were 93.1\% (95\% CI: 75.8-98.8) and 0.0\% (95\% CI: 0.0-94.5), respectively….Table 1.

Diagnostic test	Pneumonia	Plural effusion
Negative likelihood ratio	NaN	0.08 (0.01-0.5)
Radiography
Sensitivity	93.1 (75.8-98.8)	66.7 (35.4-88.7)

What are the differential diagnosis for TB?

Extra-Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Extra-Pulmonary Location	Differential Diagnosis
Tuberculous Arthrits	Bacterial septic arthritis, pseudogout
Central Nervous System Tuberculosis	Bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis, encephalitis
Tuberculosis Peritonitis	Bacterial peritonitis, chronic peritoneal dialysis

Can TB be mistaken for asthma?

Asthma and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) are disease entities with different pathogenesis. However, endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB), a peculiar form of PTB, can mimic the symptoms of asthma. Although uncommon, the coexistence of asthma and PTB can appear.