Postprandial Elevation of Body Temperature – A Diagnostic Tool for Diq (Tuberculosis)

Abstract

Diq (tuberculosis) is one of the oldest diseases. The writings from different civilizations represent its clues. The man has been striving to know, to identify, to diagnose, to cure, to prevent and to eradicate this emaciating disease. All renowned Unani physicians have paid due attention towards the description of this disease. They are of the opinion that Diq is a condition in which Hararat Ghair Tabayee (abnormal heat) is associated with Aazae Aslia (vital organs) and this Hararat dries up body fluids. Nowadays, tuberculosis is considered as public health problem with economic and social impact. In 1993, WHO declared TB as a global emergency and RNTCP was launched with the aim of early detection of sputum positive cases. The main stay for diagnosis is sputum microscopy for AFB. This method is not fully confirmatory, so unavailability of confirmatory diagnostic method RNTCP implementation is in jeopardy. On the other hand, in the Unani system of medicine, postprandial elevation of temperature is described as a definite sign of Diq (TB). It is very easy to administer, simple, acceptable and cheap. It was a non-randomized control study in which 50 diagnosed patients were taken from DOTS Centre, NIUM Hospital, Bangalore, and 50 healthy volunteers were taken for comparison. Temperature of both groups was recorded in the morning, afternoon and at night preprandial and 1, 2 and 3 h postprandial (12 times in a day). The statistical analysis was done by paired ‘t’ test. It was found that mean temperature of patients and healthy volunteers preprandial and postprandial was highly significant (p < 0.0001). These points validate the statements of Unani physicians about the elevation of postprandial temperature as a reliable and confirmatory diagnostic tool in case of tuberculosis. This is a very cheap and reliable method of diagnosis. It may be used to detect the cases in the field as well as to diagnose the individual in the clinic to know the hidden and apparent parts of the iceberg of disease.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; diagnosis; body temperature; Unani medicine