The Role of Anti-tubercular Therapy in Patients with Presumed Ocular Tuberculosis

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.