Whether in ophthalmology or in other specialties within medicine, there are landmark studies conducted by innovative colleagues that have revolutionized how healthcare providers and patients think about a disease and how the providers have modified the management. Throughout the decades, tuberculosis (TB) has always been on the differential diagnosis of (infectious) anterior, intermediate, posterior, and pan-uveitis. However, it is difficult for ophthalmologists and uveitis specialists to manage patients with uveitis and presence of serologic findings that may suggest previous exposure or infection (i.e., QuantiFERON Gold) without pulmonary symptoms or radiographic finding. Often, infectious diseases (ID) specialists have not “believed” or recognized that tubercular infection can occur in the eyes without pulmonary involvements. At times, it has been challenging for uveitis specialists and ophthalmologists to convince ID colleagues to start anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) in such cases even though the ocular findings are very suggestive of tubercular ocular infections.
The Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS) Group has transformed how patients with ocular tuberculosis are managed! Through the extensive and international, collaborative work during the past decades, the COTS Group, under the leadership of Professor Vishali Gupta (India) and Professor Rupesh Agrawal (Singapore) who have worked tirelessly and closely with nearly 100 international leaders, has decisively helped ophthalmologists, ID specialists, and other providers and colleagues to understand how ocular tuberculosis, with protean manifestations, can exist. With nearly 20 major manuscripts (and more to come) published in a wide range of distinguished peer-reviewed journals and many presentations at major scientific ophthalmology and non-ophthalmology congresses, the COTS Group has shared what it has learned with ophthalmologists, uveitis specialists, ID specialists, other healthcare providers, and patients and has taught everyone that indeed Ocular Tuberculosis can exist, be diagnosed, and benefit from proper therapy even when there are no pulmonary involvements and no opportunity for ocular tissues to be evaluated for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (or other species of the same genus). The COTS Group has contributed significantly to the literature of ocular tuberculosis and the field of uveitis. Moreover, the tremendous success and remarkable productivity of the COTS Group have demonstrated that colleagues from different regions of the world with different practice patterns, scientific preparation, specialties, socio-economic availability, among others, can unite and collaborate tightly to address important questions of common interests.
The Foster Ocular Immunology Society (FOIS) is very honored to have followed and supported the journey of the COTS Group during the past decade. Many members of FOIS have also participated in various COTS activities throughout the years. We are also very pleased to be able to sponsor the publication costs of the COTS manuscripts in this special issue of Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, as we strongly believe that it will be very valuable and advantageous for colleagues who manage patients with ocular tuberculosis to have the important COTS manuscripts with the relevant results concentrated and organized within one theme supplement.
We, the members of FOIS, congratulate all our colleagues at COTS for your outstanding contributions to enhance our knowledge of ocular tuberculosis! We wish you much success on your ongoing work and look forward to continuing to accompany you on your future journey.
