title: Ocular tuberculosis: Position paper on diagnosis and treatment management.
abstract: Delay in diagnosis or treatment of ocular tuberculosis can result in loss of vision. However, due to the fact that early diagnosis is rarely achieved, there are still a broad variety of diagnostic and treatment approaches. Our aim was to reach a consensus on the management of diagnosis and treatment of ocular tuberculosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Critical appraisal of the literature and expert opinion on diagnosis and treatment of ocular tuberculosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The currently recommended method for ocular TB diagnosis is screening for tuberculosis in any uveitis of unknown etiology, recurrent or not responding to conventional therapy; in ocular findings highly suggestive of ocular TB and before immunosuppression (particularly biologic agents). TB screening in these cases includes tuberculosis skin testing and interferon gamma testing, along with complete medical history, ophthalmologic evaluation and chest imaging. Positively screened patients should be treated for active tuberculosis with 4 drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol) for 6-9 months. Patients should be reviewed at the end of the initiation phase (two months) and at the end of the overall treatment (6-9 months).
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Society of Ophthalmology, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Figueira
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Society of Ophthalmology, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Society of Pulmonology, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ladeira
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Society of Pulmonology, Lisboa, Portugal; Tuberculosis National Program, Portugal. Electronic address: raquelafduarte@gmail.com.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duarte
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014392:Tuberculosis, Ocular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: Ocular inflammation; Screening; Tuberculosis; Uveitis