title: Tuberculous Posterior Sclero-Uveitis with Features of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Uveitis: An Unusual Case.
abstract: BACKGROUND Ocular tuberculosis (TB) is a clinical entity that presents with a wide range of clinical manifestations. It is regarded as an extremely challenging condition from the point of view of diagnostic approach and calls for early diagnosis and prompt treatment, as it can potentially lead to blindness. CASE REPORT This is a case report of a 32-year-old male from southern India who has been living and working in Greece over the last 10 years and presented with 2-week history of pain and progressive visual impairment of his left eye. He underwent a thorough clinical ophthalmological examination and imaging of the fundus, and the findings were consistent with uveitis. However, the manifestations of the inflammation were complicated as they included features that could be attributed mainly to Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease and tuberculous serpiginous-like uveitis. Therefore, a systemic evaluation, together with specific laboratory and paraclinical investigations, were carried out to define the etiology of the inflammation and develop an optimal therapeutic plan. Taking into account specific findings from the chest imaging, a positive purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test, and sputum cultures positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), we set a diagnosis of posterior sclero-uveitis and started our patient on anti-tuberculous treatment. CONCLUSIONS This case reveals an atypical manifestation of tuberculous sclero-uveitis imitating Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease together with a few characteristics of serpiginous-like tuberculous uveitis, emphasizing the fact that tuberculosis should always be included in the differential diagnosis of uveitis when there is no obvious underlying disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kalogeropoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kitsos
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Konstantinidis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Constantina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gartzonika
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Evgenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Svarna
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Malamos
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Emmanouil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Katsanevakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalogeropoulos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D014392:Tuberculosis, Ocular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015866:Uveitis, Posterior / Q000382:microbiology*; D014607:Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis