koch infection

[rhea08]

what is a koch infection? is it tb?is it curable? my friend's apicolordotic result says that densities found in his upper lung is maybe due to koch infection but was already resolved..was he completely healed?pls enlighten my mind if what is koch infection all about

[ChaBz]

what are the treatment for that infection??

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  You're right. Koch's infection is another name for tuberculosis.  The upper lung densities seen on chest x-ray suggest that your friend had pulmonary tuberculosis in the past, but the x-ray alone cannot tell you if the infection is still active or has already healed.  Sometimes, tuberculosis leaves scars in the lungs when it heals.  This also appears in chest x-ray as a density which may be indistinguishable from active infection.  To test for active disease, your friend has to have his sputum tested, either by microscopy (the pathologist would look for tuberculosis bacteria in the sputum using a microscope) or by culture (the sputum is mixed with a broth which would grow the bacteria after several days).