Imaging in tuberculosis

Despite many advances in both diagnosis and treatment, tuberculosis still remains one of commonest causes of morbidity and mortality from any infectious cause in the world. Although the overall incidence and mortality rate for tuberculosis has decreased over the years, timely and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis is essential for the health of the patient as well as the public. For the diagnosis of tuberculosis, a high degree of clinical suspicion is required, and this becomes much more important in high-risk populations. Tuberculosis may masquerade as any disease; therefore, tissue and microbiological assessment is sometimes important for establishing the diagnosis. However, in daily practice, the clinician and radiologist should be familiar with the imaging features of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, as well as manifestations of tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients. Imaging provides a very important role in the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis. Although chest X rays remain the basic imaging modality for pulmonary tuberculosis, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear medicine techniques, including positron emission tomography/computed tomography, are extremely helpful in the assessment of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis.