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academies
September 20-21, 2017 | Philadelphia, USA
Global summit on
TUBERCULOSIS AND LUNG DISEASE
Int J Respir Med 2017 Volume 2 Issue 2
T
uberculosis (TB), known to mankind since ages, is an infectious bacterial disease,
caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and still remains a major threat to
healthcare workers world-wide. Published literature on the clinical characteristics of
TB amongst elderly patients in India, as well as globally is scarce; as the problem of
geriatric TB has not received the attention, it deserves in the present scenario when
world’s older population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. With increasing
life expectancy at birth, population aging is a global phenomenon and today 8.5%
(617 million) of people worldwide are of geriatric age group and literature projects
this figure to jump to nearly 17% (approx 1.60 billion) by 2050. Tuberculosis is well
known for its variable presentation and progression in different persons at different
age groups, or even in the same person at different occasions & settings, thus often
confusing the clinicians, engaged in its management. India, the second most-populous
country on this planet, after China, bears a fifth of the global burden of the disease.
Unfortunately, the often neglected research on the issue, with little evidence on
which to base practice and make decisions about the extent of investigations and
interventions, appropriate for the management of such individuals, fueled the present
study to compare the two groups. The conclusions drawn are certainly meaningful
and helpful pan-globally in the management of this ‘monster disease’, with special
reference to elderly cases. Undeniably, it will affect the success of TB control program
vis-à-vis its eradication drive.
e:
chest_bharatbhushan@yahoo.comManifestations of tuberculosis in elderly versus young hospitalized patients in Amritsar, India
Bharat Bhushan
Government Medical College, INDIA