Asymptomatic occlusive retinal vasculitis in newly diagnosed active tuberculosis.

Worldwide, tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. Ocular involvement can cause significant and permanent vision loss. Ocular manifestations of tuberculosis often present with visual symptoms. Asymptomatic ocular tuberculosis is uncommon and yet can have serious consequences if missed. An immunocompetent 26-year-old Filipino man living in regional Australia who was diagnosed with active pulmonary tuberculosis and started on antitubercular therapy. He was referred to an ophthalmologist for baseline ethambutol screening to exclude pre-existing optic neuropathy. Despite having no visual symptoms, when examined, the patient had vision threatening occlusive retinal vasculitis. He was initially commenced on localised therapy via bevacizumab intravitreal injections and retinal photocoagulation. Following completion of antitubercular therapy, high dose prednisone was commenced and slowly tapered. We present the case of an asymptomatic sight threatening occlusive vasculitis that was discovered on pre-treatment ophthalmology review. This case emphasises the need for referral for full ophthalmic screening in newly diagnosed tuberculosis to exclude vision-threatening complications.

Informations de copyright

© 2021 The Authors.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

We declare no competing or conflicts of interests. All authors were involved in conception, writing and critical review of the report. Informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of the clinical pictures and case report. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit-sectors.