Authors
Abstract
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health problem, with an estimated 9.6 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths per year. It represents one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity in the world. Recent research has focused on the use of interferon gamma (IFN-g) release assays (IGRAs) as a biomarker of treatment success. Animal and human studies have shown a relationship between the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacillary load and the magnitude of IFN-g responses to MTB antigen. It has therefore been postulated that a decrease in the magnitude of IFN-g responses to MTB-specific peptides measured by IGRA can be used as a biomarker of cure. To assess the utility of IGRAs for this purpose, a number of studies have investigated the kinetics of IGRA responses during the treatment of TB. We did a retrospective review of response to treatment of presumed ocular TB using IGRA. Method: We retrospectively reviewed thirty nine cases diagnosed with presumed ocular tuberculosis successfully treated with a complete course of ATT and a minimum follow-up of at least 6 months following completion of ATT. in addition we had a quantiFERON-TB gold test (QFT-G test) done prior to starting ATT. ATT consisted of isoniazid (INH) 5 mg/kg/day, rifampicin (RIF) 600 mg/day, ethambutol 15 mg/kg/ day, and pyrazinamide (PYZ) 25 mg/kg/day for initial 2 months, followed by INH + RIF for 7 months. Successful response was indicated by absence of recurrences of inflammation following ATT. The study period was between January 2019 and December 2021. Result: Thirty nine patients with suspected tubercular uveitis who underwent QFT-G test were analyzed retrogradely. Among them seventeen (43%) had QFT-G positive. Of them 10 were male and 7 were female. After 6 months following completion of ATT course repeat QFT-G test become negative in 4 cases. Among them 3 were vasculitis retinae and 1 was serpiginous like choroiditis. The mean age of QFT-G positive patients was 35.7years (range 12-51years). Male —female ratio was 1:1.42. Conclusion: IFN-y concentrations may offer some value in monitoring treatment response among OTB patients as our findings also show a significant decrease in IGRA values after 6 months of ATT conclusion, although most of our patients continued to be IGRA positive. Given the complexity of the immune response to TB, it may not be surprising that the measurement of a single cytokine does not provide sufficient discrimination to assess response to treatment. Studies investigating the potential of other novel biomarkers or combination of biomarkers with improved sensitivity and specificity are urgently needed to accurately determine the potential of immunoassays to assess the response to anti-tuberculous treatment.
Published In:
Ophthalmology Journal
(Volume: 50, Issue : 1)