The role of anti-tubercular therapy in patients with presumed ocular tuberculosis

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the factors affecting the treatment outcome in patients with presumed ocular tuberculosis on anti-tubercular therapy (ATT).

Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with presumed ocular tuberculosis seen at a tertiary referral eye care center in the United Kingdom. Failure was defined as recurrence of inflammation within 6 months of completion of ATT.

Results: There were a total of 175 patients with presumed ocular tuberculosis who had ATT. Patients with intermediate uveitis or panuveitis and those on immunosuppressive therapy had higher odds of treatment failure (p < 0.05) while those with more than 9 months of ATT (77, 79.38%) had less likelihood of failure.

Conclusion: We present the largest case series of patients with presumed ocular tuberculosis in a low endemic area treated with ATT. Longer duration of treatment resulted in reduced risk of recurrence of inflammation, whereas immunosuppression adversely affected the final treatment outcome.

Keywords: Anti-tubercular therapy (ATT); QuantiFERON gold in tube (QFT); duration of ATT; immunosuppression; intermediate uveitis; presumed ocular tuberculosis.