Imaging Modalities in Tuberculosis.
Authors
Affiliations (7)
Affiliations (7)
- Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College London Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, London NW1 2BU, United Kingdom [email protected].
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, King Fahad Medical City, 12231 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Department of Radiology, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University Hospital, Dammam 34221, Saudi Arabia.
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, University College London Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, London NW1 2BU, United Kingdom.
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
- Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201012, India.
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health challenge, with increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant and extrapulmonary forms complicating diagnosis and management. Imaging plays a pivotal role in the early detection, characterization, and treatment monitoring of TB, particularly when clinical or microbiological findings are inconclusive. Modalities such as chest radiography, computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with CT (<sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose [<sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET-CT]) provide critical insights into pulmonary, extrapulmonary, and disseminated TB. While chest X-ray is a first-line tool, CT and MRI offer superior anatomical detail, and PET-CT adds metabolic evaluation, aiding differentiation of active versus inactive disease and monitoring therapeutic response. Imaging is especially valuable in TB involving the central nervous system (CNS), musculoskeletal system, abdomen, and genitourinary tract. Advanced techniques and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools hold promise for enhancing diagnostic accuracy and guiding personalized treatment. This review comprehensively reviews the imaging spectrum of TB, underscoring its evolving role across the disease continuum.