Post-TB Symposium

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that approximately 54 million people survived TB between 2000 and 2017 alone. There is increasing evidence of long term respiratory complications following TB in a proportion of these patients, preventing them from returning to their normal lives. Patients can suffer from airflow obstruction, restrictive and fibrotic defects, bronchiectasis and aspergillomas amongst other conditions. With chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being the third leading cause of death worldwide, the problem of post-TB chronic respiratory disorders could be substantial. In addition to the physiological and anatomical consequences, people who have survived TB often suffer significant economic and psychological consequences, which the international literature is starting to recognise. Despite emerging evidence, there is still a lack of international guidelines and recommendations on the follow up of patients beyond the cure of TB. While WHO’s Global Action Plan on non-communicable diseases recommends incorporating screening for chronic respiratory disease in TB clinics, the WHO End TB Strategy neglects post-TB respiratory disorders.

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