"MANTOUX TESTING IN UVEITIS PATIENTS AND TREATMENT OF PRESUMED INTRAOCULAR TUBERCULOSIS IN WESTERN UP"
Authors: Dwivedi Jaishree , Mithal Sandeep , Santosh Santosh , Singh Ganesh 
Published: August 2021

Tuberculosis is re-emergingasaglobalhealthproblem.Itisaslowlyprogressive,chronic,granulomatous infectioncausedby
M.tuberculosiswhichusuallyaffectslungs,butcanalsoaffectotherorganslikeCVS,GI,CNS,SKINandEYES.
Choroidal tubercles and tuberculomas are reported to be the most common intraocular manifestations of TB and the most
commonintraocularclinicalpresentationappearstobeposterioruveitis.
ThediagnosisofocularTBisconsideredinsettingsof1.IsolationofM.tuberculosisfromocularfluidsortissuespecimen.Byamicrobiologicalorhistopathologicalstudy,PCR.
2.AspresumedoculardiseasesuggestiveofTBwithprovensystemicactivedisease.
3.Presumedoculardiseasewithoutevidenceofactivesystemicdisease.
DiagnosticCriteriaForPresumedIntraocularTbUveitiswere.
1.Ocular findings consistent with possible intraocular TB with no other cause of uveitis suggested by history of symptoms,or
ancillarytestings.
2.StronglypositiveMANTOUX OR TUBERCULINSKINTESTING(>10mmareaofinduration/necrosis)
3.Responsetoantituberculartherapywithabsenceofrecurrences.
The aims of our study were to evaluate prevalence of Mantoux positive in newly referred uveitis patients in whom systemic
evaluationwasperformedandtoassesstheoutcomeoftreatmentforpresumedintraoculartuberculosisinselectedpatients.
MATERIALANDMETHOD The studywas conductedin theRetinaClinic atUpgradeddepartmentof Ophthalmology,LLRM
medicalcollege,Meerut,India.Itwasaprospective,noncomparative,interventionalcaseseries.
PatientsofocularinflammationreferredtoRetinaClinicwhounderwentsystemicevaluationwereincludedinthestudy
A total of patients who satisfy the inclusion criteria , underwent systemic evaluation which include blood tests, chest
radiograph,and tuberculin skin testing (0.05 _g purified protein derivative in 0.1 ml,equivalent to 2.5 tuberculin units) Both
erythema and induration was measured at 48 hours,and the result were judged to be positive if induration was more than
10 mm
Antituberculosis therapyi.eisoniazid300mg/day,rifampin600mg/day,ethambutol 15mg/kg/day,andpyrazinamide25–30
mg /kg/ day for the first 2 months ,thereafter rifampin and isoniazid were used for another 4–7 months was initiated for
patients who had clinical findings consistent with possible intraocular tuberculosis,a positive tuberculin skin test result
Responsetotherapywasassessedintermsofincreaseordecreaseorresolution
OBSERVATIONAND RESULT Ofthe total 32patients 9patients havepositive tubercular contact history and30patientswere
mantouxpositive.(94%),ofwhich78%havetheirindurationsizeof>15mmand8patientshavepositivex-rayfindings.(25%)
Out of these 32 patients, 25 received antituberculous therapy for 9 months. In addition all of these patients also received
systemicprednisone(1mg/kg/day)untilaclinicaleffectwasseenandthenaslowreductionofdosewasdone.
7patientsweredroppedoutfromthestudy.
Out of these 25 patients which were started on treatment, 24 patients (96%) showed improvement in their clinical status, 19
patients (76%) showed improvement in their visual acuity after treatment and 35.6 % patients attained visual acuity of 6/9 or
better.
CONCLUSION Treatment with antitubercular therapy combined with systemic corticosteroids induces resolution of
inflammation with no recurrences. So, mantoux testing should remain an integral part of the systemic work-up for uveitis
patients.