If you suspect that you have TB, please contact
- your local health center
- occupational health services
- student: the health center where you live or the student health services
- asylum seeker: the public health nurse’s office in the reception center
The health center should make an appointment for you to see a nurse or doctor within 1-2 days, or give you instructions if otherwise.
Medical evaluation for TB starts by asking about your symptoms and any risk factors for TB. You will be asked if you have a history of TB or if you know you have been exposed to TB.
When TB is suspected, a chest radiograph (x-ray) is always taken and sputum samples are examined for the presence of mycobacteria using smear microscopy and culture.
You will also be examined by a doctor.
This basic medical evaluation for TB for adults is usually done in a health center. Depending on the condition of the patient and the nature of the symptoms, the evaluation may also be done in a hospital.
If you are diagnosed or strongly suspected of having TB, you will be sent to the hospital as soon as possible for further evaluation and treatment. If it is suspected that you have TB which can spread to others, it will be necessary to admit you to the hospital urgently (within a couple of days). Otherwise, admission to the hospital may take longer.
If you are diagnosed or strongly suspected of having TB, you will be sent to the hospital as soon as possible for further evaluation and treatment. If it is suspected that you have TB which can spread to others, it will be necessary to admit you to the hospital urgently (within a couple of days). Otherwise, admission to the hospital may take longer.
Treatment of TB is started in the hospital and is continued at home under supervision. Although the health center is usually responsible for administering TB medications to the patient, the doctor in the hospital is responsible for your treatment and will make decisions throughout its duration. Follow-up visits in the outpatient department of the hospital take place monthly or every second month.
Diagnosing TB in children is challenging. Once a child has TB, their condition can worsen very rapidly. For this reason, all examinations for children under the age of 16 years are carried out in the children’s hospital.
The medications, hospital care and follow-up visits related to TB treatment are free of charge. During your treatment, you will receive support and information from the staff who are treating you. The hospital’s social worker will provide you with information on social security issues. You will also have access to peer support.
Basic medical evaluation
- medical history by interviewing
- physical examination by doctor
- chest X-ray
- microscopic examination and culture of sputum samples for mycobacteria, nucleic acid amplification test
Additional tests (if necessary)
- blood tests
- bronchoscopy
- biopsy or tissue samples
- sophisticated medical imaging examinations, like computed tomography of the lungs or magnetic resonance imaging