International Medical Case Reports Journal (Nov 2016)
Choroidal tuberculoma as a presenting sign of tuberculosis
Abstract
Nicolas Arej,1,2 Ali Fadlallah,1,2 Elias Chelala1,3 1Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, 2Department of Ophthalmology, Eye and Ear Hospital International, Dbayeh, 3Department of Ophthalmology, Hôtel-Dieu de France Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon Abstract: Choroidal tuberculoma is a rare ocular form of tuberculosis (TB) that raises both a diagnostic and a therapeutical challenge, especially when occurring without other manifestations of the disease. This study reports the case of a 27-year-old woman who had a unilateral drop of vision (20/100) with ocular pain. Her fundus examination revealed an elevated juxtapapillary choroidal mass measuring 892 µm in diameter, as calculated by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and associated with a serous retinal detachment involving the macula. The diagnosis of choroidal tuberculoma was established by positive QuantiFERON-TB and tuberculin skin test. Laboratory and imaging workup ruled out pulmonary and systemic TB as well as other possible etiologies. Antituberculosis therapy was started and led to an improved visual acuity (20/30) and a shrinkage of the tuberculoma to a diameter of 499 µm at 3 months. This is one of the few reported cases of solitary choroidal tuberculoma in a patient with no other sign of TB. It sheds light on the place of OCT in the diagnosis and follow-up of the choroidal mass, in terms of measuring the size of the mass and revealing the associated serous retinal detachment and the distinctive “contact sign” between the neurosensory retina and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)–choriocapillaris layer surmounting the tuberculoma. Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculoma, choroid, choroidal mass, optical coherence tomography, OCT, QuantiFERON-TB
