Ocular Tuberculosis: a challenging condition

<b>Introduction:</b> Ocular Tuberculosis (OTB) is a rare and often misdiagnosed form of tuberculosis (TB) that can lead to vision loss. Due to its singularity, the diagnosis of OTB remains challenging and is usually presumptive. <b>Aims and Objectives:</b> To characterize the patients with OTB in Lisbon’s greater area. <b>Methods:</b> Retrospective study of patients with OTB referred to Lisbon’s Tuberculosis Centre between 2015-2022. Data was collected from clinical records and national tuberculosis registry forms. A statistical analysis was performed using SPSS IBM®. <b>Results:</b> From a total of 2380 patients with Active Tuberculosis (ATB), 3,7% (n=87) had OTB (possible diagnosis). Age distribution was not significantly different between total ATB and OTB groups. Over a half of OTB patients were female (54%) and 63,2% were portuguese. The mean age was significantly higher in the portuguese group (59,55 vs. 44,31 years; p&lt;0,001). The most frequent disease presentation was anterior uveitis (34,5%), followed by vasculitis or Eales disease (18,4%) and panuveitis (14,9%). None of the patients was HIV positive, 12,6% had diabetes, 3,4% autoimmune diseases. Of all OTB patients, 19,5% reported prior exposure to TB and 11,5% had previously undergone anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT). OTB patients underwent ATT for an average of 8,1 months. Clinical improvement was verified in 90,5% of treated patients. Of the total OTB patients, 6,9% abandoned treatment and 4,6% relapsed with OTB. <b>Conclusions:</b> The majority of OTB patients were portuguese-born. Most of treated patients experienced clinical improvement, with only a minority presenting with relapsing disease. The study highlights the need to increase awareness of this condition to improve outcomes for OTB.