is fibrotic strands considered as tb?

good day! i just want to ask..a friend of mine had undergone an chest x-ray and the result was fibrotic strands...pull tb..i just want to know if she is positive from tb?and what are the medications?she bought rifampicin 400mg,isoniazid 450,pyrazinamide 500mg...tnx

[gymdandee]

National Jewish Health, Aug 08, 2008 11:39AM
Discoid atelectasis refers to collapse of a small portion of lung and/or fibrosis of that piece of lung.  It is common and almost always of no clinical significance.

The "fibrotic stranding" may represent thickening of the normal septal lines.  The septa are normal structures that compartmentalize lung lobes and lobules.  The thickening can be caused by fluid or scarring.  When these strands, or lines, follow a bronchus, they are thought to represent thickening of the bronchial wall.  This thickening is most often associated with chronic bronchitis or asthma.

Many of these strands or lines simply reflect inflammation or scarring but are not at all related to a serious interstitial lung disease, called pulmonary fibrosis.

The strands are a common x-ray finding and not a sign of serious pulmonary disease.  The same can be said of stable sub-pleural nodules.

An appropriate approach to these findings would be to repeat a chest x-ray in a year or so.  If there is any suggestion of progression or worsening, your doctors might want to order a CT scan of the lungs.