Chapter 10
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What are the symptoms of TB?

The most common symptom of pulmonary TB is a persistent cough for two weeks or more where patients cough up bits of blood. It may be accompanied by one or more of the following:

  • Chest pain
  • Loss of appetite and weight
  • Tiredness
  • Fever, particularly with a rise in temperature in the evening and night sweats
  • Shortness of breath
  • Coughing up blood may occur in complicated cases

Symptoms of extra-pulmonary (outside the lungs) TB depends on the organ involved. Chest pain from tuberculosis pleurisy, enlarged lymph nodes, and a sharp angular deformity of the spine are the most frequent signs.