RISK FACTORS AND DIAGNOSIS OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a direct infectious disease caused by TB germs, namely mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Although caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the risk factors underlying the development of TB are complex and multifactorial. The diagnosis of TB needs a supporting examination for the next treatment process. The purpose of this study was to discuss the risk factors for tuberculosis, namely biological factors, behavioral factors, and TB diagnosis. This type of research is a literature review taken from various references in journal articles. This literature review was compiled using sources obtained through journal databases such as Google Scholar, Proquest, Sciendirect, and several other references using the keywords risk factors, diagnosis, and pulmonary tuberculosis. From the search results it is known that risk factors are variables associated with an increased risk of a particular disease or infection. Based on the results of a review of articles on tuberculosis risk factors including biological risk factors, namely a weak immune system, including lack of nutrients, changing conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, hypertension, use of immunosuppressive drugs, Covid-19 and long duration of diabetes mellitus (DM). Behavioral risk factors are genetic factors and exogenous factors, namely gender, older age, place of residence, use of illegal drugs, alcoholism, smoking, lifestyle, obesity, distance from home to TB diagnostic facilities, poverty level, population density, domicile in rural areas, suboptimal adherence to medication, alcohol consumption, incarceration, hospital admissions, poor pill-taking behavior, low levels of educational attainment, and missed clinic appointments were reported among treatment-aborted and drug-resistant patients. Diagnosis of tuberculosis based on TB symptoms includes smear microscopy, additional tests such as Xpert/RIF, and urine tests (lipoarabinomannan (LAM), NF-α and VEGF, IGRA (an immunological method which includes T-SPOT and QuantiFERON-TB), chest X-ray and chest CT scan.