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Open Access Post-TB health and wellbeing

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TB affects around 10.6 million people each year and there are now around 155 million TB survivors. TB and its treatments can lead to permanently impaired health and wellbeing. In 2019, representatives of TB affected communities attending the ‘1st International Post-Tuberculosis Symposium´ called for the development of clinical guidance on these issues. This clinical statement on post-TB health and wellbeing responds to this call and builds on the work of the symposium, which brought together TB survivors, healthcare professionals and researchers. Our document offers expert opinion and, where possible, evidence-based guidance to aid clinicians in the diagnosis and management of post-TB conditions and research in this field. It covers all aspects of post-TB, including economic, social and psychological wellbeing, post TB lung disease (PTLD), cardiovascular and pericardial disease, neurological disability, effects in adolescents and children, and future research needs.

Keywords: post-TB socio-economic burden; post-tuberculosis lung disease; quality of life; tuberculous neuropathy; tuberculous pericarditis

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK 2: Department of Infectious Diseases, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK 3: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK 4: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa 5: Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 6: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa 7: University Hospital, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil 8: Department of Thoracic Medicine, St Vincent´s Hospital Clinical School University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia 9: Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa 10: Occupational Therapy Department, Windhoek Central Hospital, Ministry of Health and Social Services, Windhoek, Namibia, Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa 11: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa 12: Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, Paediatric Pulmonology, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa 13: Department of Psychiatry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 14: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA 15: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical Centre of the University of Munich, German Centre for Infection Research, Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany 16: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK 17: TB Proof, Cape Town, South Africa 18: Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa, Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, UK 19: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg, South Africa 20: Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa 21: Task Force, Global Plan to End TB, 2023–2030, Stop TB Partnership, Geneva, Switzerland 22: Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Provincial TB Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada 23: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, Neurology Research Group, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa 24: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa 25: Department of Medicine, Therapeutics, Dermatology and Psychiatry, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya 26: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, College of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Publication date: April 1, 2023

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

    The IJTLD is dedicated to understanding lung disease and to the dissemination of knowledge leading to better lung health. To allow us to share scientific research as rapidly as possible, the IJTLD is fast-tracking the publication of certain articles as preprints prior to their publication. Read fast-track articles.

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