Aim: To determine the prevalence and clinical features of ocular tuberculosis in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.
Methods: Detailed history and ocular examination of 46 patients (92 eyes) in the outpatient department of an AIDS clinic.
Results: Seventeen of 46 (36.9%) patients had clinical and radiological evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Of these, four (23.5%) showed findings consistent with ocular tuberculosis. Lesions included tubercles (1 eye of 3 patients) and chorioretinitis (1 eye of 1 patient). Commonly, these patients had evidence of abdominal tuberculosis. Hemorrhages, cotton-wool spots, herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR), and disc edema were other non-tubercular AIDS-related lesions and were seen in seven of the remaining 42 patients (16.2%).
Conclusion: Ocular tuberculosis was a common finding in this study and was found in profoundly immunocompromised patients with disseminated tuberculosis. Diagnosis of ocular tuberculosis may help reduce HIV/tuberculosis co-infection mortality.