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Tuberculosis, one of the most common infectious illnesses in the world was responsible for almost two million deaths in 2004, according to the World Health Organization. Though common, TB goes unrecognized by many doctors in the U.S. who aren''t familiar with the symptoms, leading to a delayed or missed diagnosis.
While the disease is treatable if caught early, delayed diagnosis and/or missed diagnosis of TB can permanently injure or kill its victims and spread to other hosts.
“Delayed diagnosis is a concern that obsesses people in TB control,” said Dr. Kenneth Castro, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tuberculosis elimination division. “There are many outstanding physicians who don''t see it anymore and therefore lose proficiency to promptly diagnose and treat it.”
While incidents of TB missed or misdiagnosis are not formally tracked in the U.S., a number of studies and high profile cases involving patient injury or death have raised concern among experts.
A 2005 study, published in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, found that of the 158 tuberculosis patients evaluated, 45 percent went undiagnosed 30 days after they contracted the disease. Furthermore, 16 percent of patients remained undiagnosed after 90 days.
Diagnosing TB is an involved process, and many U.S. doctors do not perform the correct tests because they don''t expect the disease to be the culprit of the symptoms. According to experts, doctors no longer recognize tuberculosis, which was one of the most feared diseases in 19 th and early 20 th centuries.
“It''s the biggest thing that bothers me in my entire career,” said executive director of the Global Tuberculosis Institute in New Jersey, Dr. Lee Reichman. “People don''t think of it.”
A number of health organizations have mobilized to help prevent future cases of delayed TB diagnosis. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have sponsored a TB curriculum being implemented in medical and professional schools to increase awareness and teach proper diagnosis methods.
The CDC has funded four national call centers for doctors who can request diagnostic assistance when tuberculosis is suspected. According to Reichman, doctors need to pick up a phone and ask for help when they are in doubt.
And the California Department of Health Services is currently involved in a national study of TB delayed diagnosis of foreign-born TB patients. These efforts are being made in hopes to decrease the potentially fatal occurrence of TB delayed diagnosis.
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