[A clinico-pathogenetic classification of tuberculosis of the eye]

Clinical pathogenetic classification is based on the results of many-year observation of a large group of patients in whom the tuberculous etiology of ocular disease was confirmed by a universal approach based on reliable informative diagnostic criteria. Three pathogenetic and 4 clinical forms of ocular tuberculosis were distinguished. The classification for the first time includes ocular involvement in tuberculosis of the central nervous system and tuberculosis of defense system of the eye. Tuberculous diseases of the cornea, sclera, and retinal vessels are presented in combination with uveitis of this or that localization, because they are secondary towards uveitis. The classification includes 4 sections. The diagnosis based on this classification reflects the clinical features of disease and the time course of the process. The classification is diagnostically and therapeutically oriented. It suggests a rational choice of etiological diagnosis and therapy, which is determined by the pathogenetic and clinical forms of ocular tuberculosis.