Tuberculosis: an under-recognized cause of COPD? Solving the post-TB lung disease puzzle, one piece at a time.

The article focuses on post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD), highlighting its emerging recognition as a significant health issue following tuberculosis (TB) treatment. It reviews recent research, including a large cohort study from China showing that pulmonary TB increases the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by 2.57 times, even after adjusting for multiple confounding factors. Despite growing awareness and descriptive studies on PTLD’s radiological and functional impacts, major gaps remain in understanding its pathogenesis, risk factors, and effective treatments, with current management largely limited to pulmonary rehabilitation and smoking cessation. The article emphasizes the urgent need for further research, especially randomized controlled trials, to develop targeted therapies and improve care for the estimated 155 million global TB survivors affected by PTLD.