Tuberculous Uveitis clinical trials

The Effectivity of Anti Tuberculosis Therapy in Idiopathic Uveitis With Positive IGRA

The reported incidence of uveitis is 52 persons per year per 100,000 population, with a greater incidence estimated in developing countries, including Indonesia. Uveitis has challenges in diagnosis and therapy, due to the existence of an immunological privilege mechanism, so it is not easy to obtain diagnostic markers or provide appropriate therapy. In uveitis, a work-up examination looking for signs in the entire body or systemic disease is often conducted. Up until today, establishing the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB)-associated uveitis is still a challenge. From histopathological studies, TB germs are difficult to find. Wreblowski et al. found that paucibacillary conditions also made TB bacteria difficult to find by PCR and tuberculin test results were also not completely reliable. The development of IGRA (Interferon-Gamma Release Assay) assays, such as QuantiFERON-Gold TB (QFT) has been investigated. Our previous study found that IGRA-positive uveitis patients with type 1 IFN gene expression score >5.61 were more likely to have active TB uveitis. In addition, serum C1q examination also showed an inverse correlation with this score. Regarding therapy, until now corticosteroids and cycloplegics are the mainstay treatment for uveitis. However, appropriate administration of anti-infective drugs is necessary in cases of infection. Inflammation in TB-associated uveitis is thought to be the result of the immune response that occurs as a result of paucibacillary TB infection. Examinations can be redundant and problematic. Determination of therapy is also a dilemma because it is difficult to determine the right patient candidate for administration of anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT). The protocol of ATT administration itself has not been standardized so it often follows the extra pulmonary TB protocol and there has been no reliable clinical trial research on ATT administration in patients with suspected TB uveitis yet no TB microorganisms are found directly in the eyes or other organs. On this basis, the investigators planned a prospective randomized clinical trial study that involve idiopathic uveitis patients with positive IGRA test, to assess the effectivity of ATT compared to oral steroids. In addition, this study can also be used as a basis for validation of type 1 IFN scores and serum C1q as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers in cases of TB-associated uveitis.