Which of the following symptoms is least likely to be associated with tuberculosis?

In the context of tuberculosis (TB), the symptoms typically associated with the disease include weight loss, night sweats, and fatigue. Each of these symptoms relates to the body's response to infection and is commonly reported by individuals suffering from active TB.

Weight loss in TB patients often results from a combination of factors, including increased metabolic demands due to the infection as well as decreased appetite and nutritional intake. Night sweats are another hallmark symptom, caused by the body’s immune response to the mycobacterial infection, leading to a fever that fluctuates and can result in excessive sweating during the night. Fatigue is also a prevalent experience among TB patients, generally due to the prolonged illness, systemic inflammation, and the body's effort to fight off the infection.

In contrast, an increased appetite is not typically associated with tuberculosis. In fact, many patients experience decreased appetite along with the other symptoms, which contributes to weight loss rather than an increase in appetite. Therefore, identifying increased appetite as the least likely symptom to be associated with tuberculosis is accurate. This highlights the contrasting nature of appetite changes in infectious diseases versus the expected responses to such infections.