Background:
Most people with tuberculosis (TB) feel better after starting treatment. But for some people, the opposite happens. They may feel better at first, but then suddenly get worse. This is a paradoxical reaction. Researchers want to better understand what causes this reaction and what happens after someone has it.
Objective:
To learn about paradoxical reactions to TB treatment.
Eligibility:
Adults 18 and older diagnosed with confirmed or suspected TB and currently on treatment for at least 2 weeks, with or without signs/symptoms of a paradoxical inflammatory reaction.
Design:
Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. They will give blood and urine samples.
Eligible participants will visit either the NIH Clinical Center or the Mexico Clinic sites 3 times over 6 to 18 months. Each visit will take 7 hours to complete; visits may be scheduled over more than 1 day. Participants may have more visits if their TB symptoms change.
Participants will give blood, urine, and sputum samples. They will have adverse event assessments. They will have 2 to 3 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans. PET/CT scans make pictures of the inside of the body. For this, participants will lie on a table that slides into a donut-shaped scanner. They will get a small amount of radioactive dye through an IV, which is a small plastic tube placed in a vein in the arm using a needle.
Participants may have optional apheresis at the NIH site only. For this, blood is taken from a needle in one arm. White blood cells are separated from the rest of the blood. The rest of the blood is returned through a needle in the other arm.
Aged greater than or equal to 18 years.
Recrudescent symptoms of TB after initial clinical improvement.
Change in physical exam after initial clinical improvement suggestive of new inflammatory process (e.g., lymphadenopathy or new findings on pulmonary exam).
Worsening radiographic evidence of disease after initiation of treatment, as compared with imaging prior to or earlier in treatment.
HIV infection. (Individuals with HIV infection may be eligible for a separate study exclusively evaluating persons living with HIV.)
Pregnant or breastfeeding.
Uncontrolled psychiatric disease, substance use, or inappropriate conduct unsuitable for a research study.
Malignancy requiring imminent or ongoing treatment including radiation, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.