Clinical spectum of tuberculous optic neuropathy
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Date
2012-05-22
Authors
Davis, Ellen J
Rathinam, Sivakumar R
Okada, Annabelle A
Tow, Sharon L
Petrushkin, Harry
Graham, Elizabeth M
Smith, Justine R
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Rights
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source
are credited.
Rights Holder
Authors retain copyright.
Abstract
Purpose
Tuberculous optic neuropathy may follow infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis or administration of the bacille Calmette–Guerin. However, this condition is not well described in the ophthalmic literature.
Methods
Ophthalmologists, identified through professional electronic networks or previous publications, collected standardized clinical data relating to 62 eyes of 49 patients who they had managed with tuberculous optic neuropathy.
Results
Tuberculous optic neuropathy was most commonly manifested as papillitis (51.6 %), neuroretinitis (14.5 %), and optic nerve tubercle (11.3 %). Uveitis was an additional ocular morbidity in 88.7 % of eyes. In 36.7 % of patients, extraocular tuberculosis was present. The majority of patients (69.4 %) had resided in and/or traveled to an endemic area. Although initial visual acuity was 20/50 or worse in 62.9 % of 62 eyes, 76.7 % of 60 eyes followed for a median of 12 months achieved visual acuities of 20/40 or better. Visual field defects were reported for 46.8 % of eyes, but these defects recovered in 63.2 % of 19 eyes with follow-up.
Conclusion
Visual recovery from tuberculous optic neuropathy is common, if the diagnosis is recognized and appropriate treatment is instituted. A tuberculous etiology should be considered when evaluating optic neuropathy in persons from endemic areas.
Description
Keywords
Opthalmology, Tuberculosis, Optic neuropathy
Citation
Davis, E.J., Rathinam, S.R., Okada, A.A., Tow, S.L., Petrushkin, H., Graham, E.M. et al, 2012. Clinical spectrum of tuberculous optic neuropathy. Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection, 2, 183-189.