Uveitis associated with latent tuberculosis: A comparative study of the impact of antitubercular therapy combined or not with systemic corticosteroids

Abstract

Purpose: To study the outcome of latent tubercular uveitis (LTBU) treated with antitubercular therapy (ATT) combined or not with adjuvant systemic corticosteroids. Methods: Twenty patients (27 eyes) with LTBU were included in a monocentric retrospective study and evaluated for the absence of active disease after treatment. Data on the clinical outcomes (active inflammation), vision (best-corrected visual acuity, BCVA) and treatment were collected retrospectively. Results: Fourteen patients received ATT alone and six patients received ATT combined with systemic corticosteroids. The two groups were not comparable in terms of proportion of tubercular panuveitis cases and initial BCVA (59.3 ± 8.2 letters vs 44.2 ± 15.2 letters). There was no significant difference in remission rate and in BCVA between both groups 3 months after ATT discontinuation. Conclusion: Patients with LTBU treated with ATT alone had visual and inflammatory outcomes at least comparable to those of patients treated with ATT combined with systemic corticosteroids.