Advances in imaging and molecular diagnostics of ocular tuberculosis and selected observations from the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS)

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Ocular tuberculosis (TB) is a rare extra-pulmonary manifestation with protean clinical manifestations. Ocular TB as a cause of potentially blinding disease has been recently recognized by ophthalmologists as well as pulmonologists. In the past decade, there has been a great leap in our understanding of the disease pathogenesis, clinical and imaging features, as well as therapeutic challenges and disease complications.

Areas covered: In this expert review, an emphasis has been laid on the recent advances in ocular imaging including wide-field fundus imaging, fluorescein angiography and autofluorescence, enhanced-depth optical coherence tomography, optical coherence tomography angiography, among others, as well as progress in the field of diagnostics such as polymerase chain reaction and other nucleic acid amplification tests. Findings from the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS), a multicentric study on ocular TB, have been explained in details.

Expert opinion: Due to rapid advances in the field of fundus imaging and laboratory testing, it has become possible to recognize the pathological alterations observed in ocular TB. With further research, it may be possible to generate a consensus on the diagnosis and management of this entity in the future.

KEYWORDS:

• Tuberculosis
• choroiditis
• optical coherence tomography
• fluorescein angiography
• indocyanine green angiography
• serpiginous-like choroiditis
• uveitis

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.