Hyperuricaemic Uveitis amongst Tuberculosis Patients taking Antituberculus Therapy: A single Centre study

Abstract

Background: Around the world, among the top ten contributors to mortality is tuberculosis. People with asymptomatic hyperuricemia are typically ignorant of their illness and the potential repercussions, which include the possibility of diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure, cardiovascular disorders, and uveitis if they lack gouty symptoms.Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of hyperuricaemic uveitis amongst tuberculosis patients taking antituberculous therapy.Methodology: The study was carried out at the Department of Pulmonology and Ophthalmology at Gajju Khan Medical College/Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from January 2019 to October 2021. A total of 900 individuals who were taking 4 prescribed ATT drugs were enrolled. These were Ethambutal, Isoniazid, Rifampicin and Pyrazinamide. The independent sample t-test was used for statistical analysis.Results: Out of 900 participants the male was 800 (88.8%) and female was 100 (11.1%). The age of the individual ranges from 20 to 60 years (mean 41 years). Based on age-wise distribution, 15% of patients were in the age group 20 - 30 years, 50% of patients were in the age group 31 - 40 years, 20% were in the age group 41-50 years while 5% of patients were in the age group 51-60 years. The mean uric acid level was 19.325 ± 0.49 Mg /dl while the mean creatinine level was 0.80 ± 0.16 per mg. One patient had bands keratopathy involving refractile, yellow crystals on the Bowman membrane and deep corneal epithelial cells. Conclusion: When ATT begins in tuberculosis patients, hyperuricaemic uveitis nearly always develops 8 weeks later. If this condition is not identified, it can have very dangerous consequences.