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I have a few questions regarding tuberculosis:

  1. If a person is cured of Tuberculosis, is it compulsory for all patients effected by Tb to have a patch/scar on their lung? (references for patch)
    Reference
  2. Can't the patch/scar on the lung ever go away? Or will it stay forever? If it can go away, in what procedure can it be done?
  3. One of the references talk about the weight gain. If there is no weight gain, what does that mean?
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    i have heard that a patch is formed on the lung wall when attacked by Tb, I dont know the details of the patch...
    – girl101
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 3:44
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    @YviDe I have edited the question now, see if you can help
    – girl101
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 9:04
  • @YviDe, then I will be asked to give proper citations, which I don't want to re-research on... Please tell whether to write it as an answer, based on experiences, without any citation or not?
    – ABcDexter
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 17:06
  • @ABcDexter please write whatever you know....
    – girl101
    Commented Dec 11, 2015 at 3:46

2 Answers 2

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  1. No, it is not compulsory for all the patients to have/develop a scar which is most probably the pulmonary fibrosis or might be residual parenchymal lesions.

    • In certain cases, it is due to not doing the breathing exercises while taking the standard regime of HREZ (isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide)

  2. Yes, it can get better(not completely removed) with time if the person does variety of breathing exercises like:

    • Yoga (pranayam).
    • Deep breathing, using props like balloons.
    • Aerobics, morning walks, etc.

  3. In tuberculosis, weight gain is a healthy indication that the medicines are working.
    The medicines are given keeping in mind the current weight of the patient. The importance of maintaining a proper BMI(Body Mass Index) is revealed in case studies of relapses.
    Please read this: WHO report on TB

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  • Why downvoted ??
    – ABcDexter
    Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 19:44
  • Why do you think pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by not doing breathing exercises, or that breathing exercises can make it go away? Your source says "The scarring is permanent once it has developed."
    – YviDe
    Commented Feb 28, 2016 at 21:58
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    while you're not saying that pulmonary fibrosis is caused by not doing breathing exercises, you at least say that it could be prevented by doing them. Health.SE has a policy that sources should be provided for statements like that, or that yoga can get rid of pulmonary fibrosis, see: meta.health.stackexchange.com/questions/1/… this is likely why your answer got downvoted
    – YviDe
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 14:52
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    @ABcDexter - It's been 2 months, can you update with the references you promised?
    – JohnP
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 21:43
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    @Lucky Thank you, I'll be updating with more reliable resources (today only).
    – ABcDexter
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 8:55
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Tuberculosis and scarring

That scar on the X-rays is likely a leftover from either a lymphadenopathy or a lung cavity. A lymphadenopathy is a swelling of the lymph nodes and appears in almost all patients, a lung cavity occurs in about half the patients.

Most people recover from tuberculosis with no further negative effects, but some scarring may remain behind in the lungs. The scarring you are asking about is likely caused by the lymph nodes:

The lymphadenopathy usually resolves slower than the pulmonary lesions, with no residual features. The nodes decrease in size after 3 months of treatment, though in some cases a paradoxical, transitory increase in size is seen in the first period of treatment. In one-third of cases, the lung infiltrates leave some kind of parenchymal scar, such as a nodule (tuberculoma), which can calcify forming the Ghon focus, or an area of fibrosis.

A parenchymal scar is a scar in the lungs. No surgery is done to remove it.

Tuberculosis and weight

Tuberculosis leads to weight loss and malnutrition. Weight gain is a positive sign that a patient is recovering from tuberculosis and the risk of a relapse is small. Weight loss indicates that something is wrong, for example with the liver.

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