Twenty-four Month Outcomes in the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS)-1: Defining the “Cure” in Ocular Tuberculosis

Purpose: To report the clinical findings, anatomical features, and treatment outcomes in subjects with ocular tuberculosis (OTB) at 24 months in the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS)-1. Methods: Of the 945 subjects included in COTS-1, those who completed a 24-month follow-up after completion of treatment were included. The main outcome measure was a number of patients with treatment failure (TF). Results: 228 subjects (120 males; mean age of 42.82 ± 14.73 years) were included. Most common phenotype of uveitis was posterior (n = 81; 35.53%), and panuveitis (n = 76; 33.33%). Fifty-two patients (22.81%) had TF. On univariable analysis, odds of high TF was observed with bilaterality (OR: 3.46, p = .003), vitreous haze (OR: 2.14, p = .018), and use of immunosuppressive therapies (OR: 5.45, p = .003). However, only bilaterality was significant in the multiple regression model (OR: 2.84; p = .02). Conclusions: Majority of subjects (>75%) achieved cure in the COTS-1 at 24-month follow-up. The concept of “cure” may be a valuable clinical endpoint in trials for OTB.