Rehabilitation, optimized nutritional care, and boosting host internal milieu to improve long-term treatment outcomes in tuberculosis patients

Abstract

Background: The holistic management of tuberculosis (TB) patients can improve life expectancy and lost organ function.

Rehabilitation: Chronic sequelae are very common among patients who survive TB, which can lead to a further decline in lung function. There is still no guidance for 'cured' patients with impaired lung function who need pulmonary rehabilitation. Additional tests for evaluation should be given after the end of treatment, as recent studies have shown the good effect of pulmonary rehabilitation for TB patients.

Optimized nutritional care: Malnutrition is very common among TB patients and is related to malabsorption. The latter can cause lower drug exposure, which may result in treatment failure, increasing the risk of death, and can lead to acquired drug resistance. Malnutrition should be assessed according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and the diagnosis should lead to an individualized treatment plan, including sufficient proteins and preferably in combination with adequate training.

Protective immune responses: Under normal circumstances, most immune cells use a glucose-based mechanism to generate energy. Therefore the patient's nutritional status is a key factor in shaping immune responses. Disease-related malnutrition leads to proteolysis and lipolysis. In the end, the identification of individuals who will benefit from immune-modulatory strategies may lead to clinically relevant markers.

Keywords: Disease-related malnutrition; Immune response; Pulmonary rehabilitation; Tuberculosis.