Tuberculosis: An Update
Course #94555 - $30 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
In a global perspective, the effect of TB on the health and economy of the world is staggering. The return of TB, teamed with the spread of HIV/AIDS and the prevalence of MDR-TB, has created a serious, and potentially deadly, healthcare problem. All healthcare providers must be aware of the dangers for patients, family, and self. Only meticulous attention to methods of prevention and treatment can help control this killer disease. This course will review the incidence, etiology, methods of transmission, types of tuberculosis, signs and symptoms, methods of diagnosis, prophylaxis, treatment, and management of adult and pediatric patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
This course is designed for all healthcare workers who may have contact with a patient with tuberculosis, including hospital staff and community healthcare providers.
Although tuberculosis has declined in the United States, the annual number of reported active cases remains high with an incidence rate disproportionately high among foreign-born, immunocompromised, and minority groups. The purpose of this course is to provide an updated review of pathogenesis, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis. The objective is to improve clinical outcomes and advance public health preventive measures for reducing the incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Discuss the historical background of tuberculosis.
- Describe the modes of transmission for tuberculosis.
- Identify the three clinical stages of tuberculous infection.
- List the signs and symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis.
- Identify persons at high risk of contracting pulmonary tuberculosis.
- Describe the methods of diagnosis used for suspected tuberculosis, including the necessity of a translator for assessing non-English-proficient patients.
- Characterize the important forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
- Discuss the suggested treatment options for pulmonary tuberculosis.
- Describe approaches to chemoprophylaxis of tuberculosis.
- Engage in patient education that enhances understanding and facilitates one's ability to cope with the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
John M. Leonard, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.
Contributing faculty, John M. Leonard, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John V. Jurica, MD, MPH
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Randall L. Allen, PharmD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.