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Purpose: To report the efficacy and safety of interferon (IFN) α-2a in patients with cystoid macular edema (CME) associated with presumed ocular tuberculosis (TB).Methods: We reviewed the clinical records of 5 patients with presumed ocular TB who had been treated with IFN α-2a for recurrent CME during or after completion of anti-tubercular therapy. IFN α-2a was administered at an initial dose of 3 million IU per day and then tapered after the initial response. Treatment efficacy was assessed by central macular thickness (CMT) measurement using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and visual acuity.Results: Three patients were men, and 2 were women. Patients were aged between 38 and 66 years. Mean CMT was 483 ± 178.6 μm at baseline, 302.3 ± 56 μm at 1 week, 312.3 ± 49.5 μm at 1 month, and 286.2 ± 31.9 μm at 3 months. Mean LogMAR visual acuity was 0.6 ± 0.4 at baseline, 0.4 ± 0.3 μm at 1 week, 0.3 ± 0.3 at 1 month, and 0.3 ± 0.3 at 3 months. The treatment was interrupted for 10 days because of neutropenia after 2 weeks in 1 patient and discontinued in another after 10 days because of intolerance. Total treatment duration was 3-24 months in the remaining 4 patients.Conclusion: The present small case series suggests that IFN α-2a may be an effective and safe therapeutic option for CME that is associated with presumed ocular TB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uveitis is one of the fields in ophthalmology where a tremendous evolution took place in the past 25 years. Not only did we gain access to more efficient, more targeted, and better tolerated therapies, but also in parallel precise and quantitative measurement methods developed allowing the clinician to evaluate these therapies and adjust therapeutic intervention with a high degree of precision. Objective and quantitative measurement of the global level of intraocular inflammation became possible for most inflammatory diseases with direct or spill-over anterior chamber inflammation, thanks to laser flare photometry. The amount of retinal inflammation could be quantified by using fluorescein angiography to score retinal angiographic signs. Indocyanine green angiography gave imaging insight into the hitherto inaccessible choroidal compartment, rendering possible the quantification of choroiditis by scoring indocyanine green angiographic signs. Optical coherence tomography has enabled measurement and objective monitoring of retinal and choroidal thickness. This multimodal quantitative appraisal of intraocular inflammation represents an exquisite security in monitoring uveitis. What is enigmatic, however, is the slow pace with which these improvements are integrated in some areas. What is even more difficult to understand is the fact that clinical trials to assess new therapeutic agents still mostly rely on subjective parameters such as clinical evaluation of vitreous haze as a main endpoint; whereas a whole array of precise, quantitative, and objective modalities are available for the design of clinical studies. The scope of this work was to review the quantitative investigations that improved the management of uveitis in the past 2-3 decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]