NONINVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC STRATEGY OF OCULAR TOXOCARIASIS BASED ON CLINICAL FEATURES

To develop a noninvasive diagnostic strategy based on the clinical manifestations of ocular toxocariasis (OT) and evaluate its sensitivity and specificity.

Patients with unilateral OT-like lesions were enrolled retrospectively and classified into OT and non-OT groups according to the immunologic diagnosis criterion of anti-OT immunoglobulin G. Nine clinical manifestations were recorded and compared between the groups. Among them, the retrolental membrane, branch-like vitreous strands, and retinal granulomas were the most common, which were further classified into three categories, including at least 1 of three signs, at least two of three signs, and all three signs positive. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each strategy.

There were 105 immunologically confirmed patients with OT and 70 patients with non-OT uveitis/vitreoretinopathy. Retinal granulomas, retrolental membrane, and branch-like vitreous strands were significantly more frequent in OT patients than in non-OT patients. At least 1 of 3 signs positive strategy showed the highest sensitivity (100.0%) but the lowest specificity (62.0%). At least 2 of 3 signs positive strategies showed 80.0% sensitivity and 94.3% specificity. All 3 signs positive strategies had the lowest sensitivity (46.7%) and the highest specificity (100.0%). The cutoff point of this revealed an area under the curve of 0.85 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.79 to 0.91.

A comprehensive strategy based on at least two out of three positive signs showed excellent sensitivity and specificity and could serve as a noninvasive and fast screening strategy for the clinical diagnosis of OT.