Clinical and imaging factors associated with the outcomes of tubercular serpiginous-like choroiditis.

Abstract Purpose To analyze baseline clinical and imaging risk factors associated with poor outcome in patients with tubercular serpiginous-like choroiditis (TB SLC). Design Retrospective clinical study. Methods Charts and fundus photos of consecutive patients with active TB SLC seen at a single tertiary referral center with 6 months follow-up after initiation of treatment were reviewed. Logistic mixed models were performed to determine the clinical and imaging factors associated with the response to therapy, including the opacity of choroiditis graded according to a three-point scale. Results This study included 203 eyes of 183 patients with active TB SLC. Poor initial visual acuity (BCVA), foveal and optic disc involvement were associated with poor response to therapy at six months (odds ratio – OR – 4.489, 95%CI: 1.92-10.47; p Conclusions TB SLC with higher grades of lesion opacity at baseline may be associated with greater risk of poor therapeutic response and paradoxical worsening. Grading of baseline lesion opacity may be used in future prospective studies to predict the biological behavior of the lesions and may serve as a guide to therapeutic interventions.