Purpose: To report the prevalence of intraocular tuberculosis in South Africa using a revised classification system.
Methods: A prospective study to determine the underlying etiology in patients presenting with uveitis to a tertiary Eye Clinic.
Results: A total of 35 out of 106 patients (33.0%) were diagnosed with intraocular tuberculosis, of which 11 (31.4%) had HIV infection; 23 patients (65.7%) had possible intraocular tuberculosis and 12 (34.3%) had probable intraocular tuberculosis. Patients with probable intraocular tuberculosis were younger than those with possible intraocular tuberculosis (p = 0.003). More males (66.7%) had probable intraocular tuberculosis and more females (73.9%) had possible intraocular tuberculosis (p = 0.031). More HIV-positive patients had probable intraocular tuberculosis and more HIV-negative patients had possible intraocular tuberculosis (p = 0.002).
Conclusions: South Africa has a high prevalence of intraocular tuberculosis. Younger, male, HIV-positive patients are more likely to have probable intraocular tuberculosis, while older, female, HIV-negative patients are more likely to have possible intraocular tuberculosis.
Keywords: Classification; HIV; South Africa; intraocular tuberculosis; prevalence.