Tuberculosis and anaesthesia

Anaesthesiologists and other healthcare workers have been at risk for nosocomial infection with tuberculosis for many years, however the advent of effective infection control techniques and the development of antibiotics for Mycobacterium tuberculosis have decreased the risk of nosocomial infection. The risk of transmission of tuberculosis from patients to healthcare workers is a neglected problem in many developing and underdeveloped countries as they lack the resources to prevent nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis. Patients with active tuberculosis can present with problems related to tuberculosis or unrelated problems like trauma to anaesthetist for various surgeries. An attempt has been made to highlight the precautions to be taken and the risk that the anaesthesiologists are at while getting these patients operated. A detailed pre-operative examination and investigation is essential. The various drug interactions, side-effects of antituberculous drugs should be considered pre-operatively. The patients coinfected with HIV and tuberculosis have a higher risk of developing tuberculosis should be kept in mind.