To report the prevalence of QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) positivity among uveitis patients compared to general population and to evaluate the differences in clinical features of uveitis.
Retrospective cohort study.
SETTING: Institutional.
418 consecutive new uveitis patients, regardless of clinical suspicion, were tested for QFT-G.
Demographics, TB risk factors, clinical characteristics of uveitis were collected.
The frequency of QFT-G positivity among uveitis patients and characteristic clinical features among QFT-G positive patients.
QFT-G positivity was found in 60/418 patients with uveitis (14.4%, 95% CI: 11.18 – 18.14) higher than the general US population (5%, 95% CI: 4.2 – 5.8, p<.001). Age, gender and residence were similar between QFT-G positive and negative groups. Uveitis patients with positive QFT-G were more likely to be foreign born or have a recent travel history (OR:5.84; 95% CI: 2.83 – 12.05; p.05 for each). Prevalence of TB-uveitis based on treatment response was 1.19%.
Our study demonstrates significantly higher prevalence of QFT-G positivity among uveitis patients compared to average US population. Characteristic signs of TB uveitis reported in endemic countries were not seen in this cohort. Implications of higher prevalence of QFT-G positivity among uveitis patients require further investigation.

Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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