Post-tuberculosis lung disease: a guide for clinicians

Abstract

Post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD) is an increasingly recognized condition that significantly affects survivors' quality of life, creating disability and incrementing the risk of mortality. PTLD includes a spectrum of structural and functional lung impairments such as obstructive, restrictive, and mixed patterns, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary fibrosis that persist beyond microbiological cure. Global prevalence data highlight a heavy burden of PTLD, especially in high-incidence regions, driven by late diagnosis and suboptimal treatment. Functional and radiological evaluation remains critical for timely diagnosis, with spirometry and imaging revealing lasting abnormalities in a large proportion of TB survivors. Multidisciplinary care is essential and includes bronchodilator therapy, infections/complications management and prevention, pulmonary rehabilitation, and, in selected cases, surgical intervention. Despite increasing recognition, standardized diagnostic and therapeutic pathways for PTLD are still lacking, and data on optimal follow-up, rehabilitation strategies, and preventive measures remain limited. Prospective studies, better stratification tools, and patient education initiatives are urgently needed to reduce PTLD morbidity and mortality. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on PTLD epidemiology, clinical evaluation and management while offering practical suggestions for clinicians taking care of people with TB and addressing research needs.

Keywords: Post TB lung disease; TB management; TB sequelae; Tuberculosis.