title: Follow up of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness with optic coherence tomography in patients receiving anti-tubercular treatment may reveal early optic neuropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of anti-tubercular treatment on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and the efficiency of optic coherence tomography (OCT) on early diagnosis of optic neuropathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients diagnosed with either pulmonary or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis which were treated with anti-tubercular treatment (isoniazid (INH), rifampicin, ethambutol (ETM), and pyrazinamide) were enrolled in the study. RNFL thicknesses of the patients were measured via OCT, at baseline (before starting anti-tubercular treatment) and after the two-month treatment period. Standard ophthalmologic examinations were also performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to baseline values, after the two-month treatment period, thinning was detected in the right eye's average and superior quadrant RNFLs (p = 0.024 and p = 0.006 respectively) and in the left eye's average, superior quadrant, and inferior quadrant RNFLs (p = 0.001, p = 0.008, p < 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We displayed that patients receiving INH and ETM, which were the basic medicines of anti-tubercular treatment, experienced thinning in RNFL after the two-month treatment period. Patients receiving these drugs can be followed via OCT in terms of reduction in RNFL thicknesses for early diagnose of INH and ETM toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine and.
authors.forename: Aziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gümüş
authors.forename: Veysi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Öner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: Ethambutol; isoniazid; optic coherence tomography; retinal nerve fiber layer thickness