Doctors say incomplete tests often result in women with infertility problems getting treated for tuberculosis even though they don't suffer from it
Doctors say incomplete tests often result in women with infertility problems getting treated for tuberculosis even though they don't suffer from it
Twenty-seven-year-old Shalini Singh (name changed), was being treated for infertility for last two and a half years. During the initial days of her treatment, she was diagnosed with endometrial tuberculosis, after the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that was suggested to her came positive. After that she was treated for tuberculosis, which in turn adversely affected her infertility treatment. 
Recently, when she consulted another doctor, she came to know that she was not suffering from tuberculosis at all. The reason she was told she had TB was because she had not undergone the complete test and the doctor had advised her wrongly on which medicine to take.
"We all carry the bacteria of tuberculosis, but what is important is whether it is latent or active tuberculosis. In tuberculosis, it is necessary to find out that whether the bacteria are alive or not, for if the bacteria are in the body, it does not mean that the person is suffering from TB. The PCR test only shows the presence of bacteria, but it does not show whether it is resulting into a disease or not," said Dr Abha Majumdar, Head of Department, IVF and Human production Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
The problem is compounded when the women undergoing fertility treatment take medicines for TB too. "Women with infertility problems are so desperate to fulfill their dream of parenthood that they do not enquire properly about the treatment they are undergoing. The antibiotics given for TB are high end ones and they have a major affect on one's liver besides makes one's hormonal profile weak," said a doctor from AIIMS, on condition of anonymity.
The doctors say these days a large number of patients who seek treatment for infertility are already taking some medicine for TB, while only few of them actually suffer from the disease.
"I get 30- 40 per cent of the women suffering from the infertility, already taking medicines for TB. But, after the actual tests, only 2-3 per cent of them are found to be actually suffering from the disease," added Dr Majumdar.
The doctors also point out that if the proper treatment is taken, women suffering from TB can easily have kids. "Out of the total patients I get, 15 per cent are suffering from TB. But, if the disease is picked up at an early stage and right medicines are taken, then infertility too can be cured," said Dr Sudha Prasad, Head, IVF Centre, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital.
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