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Abdominal tuberculosis (ATB) continues to pose a major diagnostic challenge for clinicians due to its nonspecific clinical presentation, variable anatomical location and lack of sensitive diagnostic tools. In spite of the development of several assays till date; no single test has proved to be adequate for ATB diagnosis. In this study, we for the first time report the detection of circulating cell-free Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) DNA (cfMTB-DNA) in ascitic fluid (AF) samples and its utility in ATB diagnosis. Sixty-five AF samples were included in the study and processed for liquid culture, cytological, biochemical and molecular assays. A composite reference standard (CRS) was formulated to categorize the patients into 'Definite ATB' (M. tuberculosis culture positive, n = 2), 'Probable ATB' (n = 16), 'Possible ATB' (n = 13) and 'Non-TB' category (n = 34). Two molecular assays were performed, namely, the novel cfMTB-DNA qPCR assay targeting M. tuberculosis devR gene and Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Xpert), and their diagnostic accuracy was assessed using CRS as reference standard. Clinical features such as fever, loss of weight, abdominal distension and positive Mantoux were found to be strongly associated with ATB disease (p<0.05). cfMTB-DNA qPCR had a sensitivity of 66.7% (95% CI:40.9,86.7) with 97.1% specificity (95% CI:84.7,99.9) in 'Definite ATB' and 'Probable ATB' group collectively. The sensitivity increased to 70.9% (95% CI:51.9,85.8) in the combined 'Definite', 'Probable' and 'Possible' ATB group with similar specificity. The cfMTB-DNA qPCR assay performed significantly better than the Xpert assay which demonstrated a poor sensitivity of �16.7% with 100% (95% CI:89.7,100) specificity (p<0.001). We conclude that cfMTB-DNA qPCR assay is an accurate molecular test that can provide direct evidence of M. tuberculosis etiology and has promise to pave the way for improving ATB diagnosis.

A 48-year-old woman presented with bilateral non-pulsatile proptosis and ophthalmoplegia after 3 days following blunt orbital trauma. It was associated with fever, malaise and loss of vision in right eye. She was provisionally diagnosed with cavernous sinus thrombosis and was treated with intravenous antibiotics with no improvement. A subtle bruit was present on examination, and digital subtraction angiography revealed a right direct (type A) carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF). The patient underwent right coil embolisation of direct CCF. On follow-up at 4 months, her proptosis resolved completely and extraocular movements improved.

A 9-month-old male child with tuberous sclerosis complex presented with ash-leaf macules on the left periocular region and ipsilateral dense cataract. Fundus showed retinal astrocytic hamartomas. This case is reported for unilaterality of congenital cataract on the same side of eyelid ash-leaf macule in tuberous sclerosis.

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Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB) for the treatment of fungal keratitis. Methods: Patients with fungal keratitis confirmed by potassium hydroxide (KOH) smear and/or confocal microscopy were administered topical L-AMB and randomized into three groups treated with three different formulations. The medication was administered two hourly till clinical improvement was achieved, followed by six hourly till complete resolution. The outcome measures were time to clinical improvement, resolution of epithelial defect, stromal infiltrate, hypopyon, extent and density of corneal opacity, neovascularization, and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 3 months. Results: Mean age of the patients was 46.6 ± 14.8 years, and trauma with vegetative matter was the most common predisposing factor. Aspergillus flavus (36%) was the most common fungus cultured, followed by Fusarium (23%). Mean time to clinical improvement, time to resolution of epithelial defect, mean time to resolution of infiltrate, and time to resolution of hypopyon were 3.45 ± 1.38, 25.35 ± 8.46, 37.97 ± 9.94, and 13.33 ± 4.90 days, respectively, and they were comparable among the three groups. There was a significant difference between treatment failure and success cases in terms of days of presentation ( P < 0.01), size of the epithelial defect ( P -value 0.04), and infiltrate size at presentation ( P -value 0.04). At 3 months follow-up, no statistically significant difference was noted in BCVA and mean scar size among groups. Conclusion: L-AMB in a gel form is an effective antifungal agent that promotes the healing of fungal ulcers with notably least vascularization and better tolerance. Trial registration number: CTRI/2020/04/024550

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