Unilateral macular serpiginous-like choroiditis as the initial manifestation of presumed ocular tuberculosis

Classic serpiginous choroiditis (SC) usually begins in the peripapillary area and spreads centrifugally, however, in some patients, the lesion can arise in the macular region. An association between lesions resembling classic SC and tuberculosis was recognized as a possibly distinct clinical entity and named as tuberculous serpiginous-like choroiditis. The differentiation of this tuberculous entity from SC is critical because the treatment of the former with immunosuppressive drugs leads to several potential adverse effects, and such treatment can have devastating consequences because of the worsening of a concomitant tuberculous infection.

A 31-year-old woman presented with unilateral decreased vision and a fundus examination consistent with macular serpiginous choroiditis. A non-reactor tuberculin skin test and normal thoracic CT scan ruled out tuberculosis. However, after 2 months of treatment with steroids and immunosuppressive drugs, the contralateral eye developed similar lesions, further raising the suspicions of ocular tuberculosis. We conducted QuantiFERON® TB Gold, which was positive; hence, antituberculous therapy was started on the patient. The lesions started healing within a few weeks. After 1 year of finishing the therapy, the lesions remained healed without any recurrence.

Macular serpiginous-like choroiditis may be the initial presentation of presumed ocular tuberculosis. Nevertheless, the correct diagnosis of this entity can be challenging and delayed by the imprecise results from the currently available methods.