Tuberculosis in the era of biological therapy

Abstract:

Since the introduction of drugs that inhibit tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), there has been an increased incidence of serious complications in the treatment of severe chronic non-communicable diseases. Tuberculosis is one of the most common infectious disease, caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (80-90% of cases). It is therefore of utmost importance to examine each patient in order to detect latent tuberculosis, because identifying latent tuberculosis means identifying patients who would benefit from the chemoprophylaxis before initiating biological therapy. For this purpose, blood tests – IGRA (interferon-gamma release assay) are used. This is an important step in reducing the number of patients with active tuberculosis. 

Key words:
chemoprophylaxis; IGRA; latent tuberculosis; TNF-α inhibitors; tuberculosis