Hypopyon uveitis in immunocompetent patients treated for Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary infection with rifabutin

Pharmacologically induced uveitis

Treatments of numerous systemic and local diseases of different etiologies may be accompanied by an unwanted side effect in the form of uveitis. We inform readers about medications that have the potential to cause uveitis and analyze the strength of association of these medications with uveitis. Subsequently, cessation of medication or appropriate treatment can be individualized for each patient for the purpose of preventing further damage to tissue structure and function. Being aware of these associations, physicians may readily identify medications that may cause uveitis and avoid expensive and unnecessary clinical and laboratory testing.

Rifabutin-Cobicistat Drug Interaction Resulting in Severe Bilateral Panuveitis

We report a novel case of severe bilateral panuveitis with hypopyon secondary to rifabutin and cobicistat drug interaction in the setting of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and latent tuberculosis (TB). A 63-year-old woman presented with bilateral conjunctival injection and decreasing vision of 5 days' duration. She had a history of well-controlled HIV infection, latent TB, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis for which she was inadvertently being treated, due to a pharmacy error, concurrently with the anti-TB medicine rifabutin and the highly active antiretroviral therapy combination Genvoya® (elvitegravir 150 mg − cobicistat 150 mg − emtricitabine 200 mg − tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg). Ocular examination was significant for bilateral panuveitis with hypopyon. Blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and vitreous analysis were negative for infectious or rheumatologic abnormalities. Rifabutin was discontinued and the patient was treated with intravenous followed by oral steroids as an outpatient with eventual resolution of symptoms. This unique case of rifabutin-cobicistat drug interaction highlights the association between rifabutin drug levels and ocular inflammation and expands the potential presentation of rifabutin-associated uveitis to include bilateral panuveitis with hypopyon.

Anterior Segment and External Ocular Disorders Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Disease

The eye is a common site for complications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although cytomegalovirus retinitis remains the most prevalent of the blinding ocular disorders that can occur in individuals with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), several important HIV-associated disorders may involve the anterior segment, ocular surface, and adnexae. Some of these entities, such as Kaposi sarcoma, were well described, but uncommon, before the HIV epidemic. Others, like microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis, have presentations that differ between affected individuals with HIV disease and those from the general population who are immunocompetent. The treatment of many of these diseases is challenging because of host immunodeficiency. Survival after the diagnosis of AIDS has increased among individuals with HIV disease because of more effective antiretroviral therapies and improved prophylaxis against, and treatment of, opportunistic infections. This longer survival may lead to an increased prevalence of anterior segment and external ocular disorders. In addition, the evaluation and management of disorders such as blepharitis and dry eye, which were previously overshadowed by more severe, blinding disorders, may demand increased attention, as the general health of this population improves. Not all individuals infected with HIV receive potent antiretroviral therapy, however, because of socioeconomic or other factors, and others will be intolerant of these drugs or experience drug failure. Ophthalmologists must, therefore, still be aware of the ocular findings that develop in the setting of severe immunosuppression. This article reviews the spectrum of HIV-associated anterior segment and external ocular disorders, with recommendations for their evaluation and management.

Retinal dysfunction and anterior segment deposits in a patient treated with rifabutin

PURPOSE

To describe the clinical and electrophysiological findings in a young boy with decreased vision possibly due to retinal damage by rifabutin.

METHODS

An 8-year-old boy with osteomyelitis was referred due to visual disturbance. During a period of 4 years, the boy was examined six times with electroretinography. Ophthalmological examination included testing of visual acuity, slit-lamp inspection, fundus inspection, fundus photography and kinetic perimetry. Two electrophysiological methods were performed for objective evaluation of retinal function, namely full-field electroretinography and multifocal electroretinography.

RESULTS

We found a slightly reduced visual acuity, a slowly increasing amount of yellow-white deposits on the posterior surface of the cornea and on the anterior part of the lens, a normal fundus appearance, and normal visual fields. However, the electroretinogram was abnormal on several occasions during therapy with rifabutin, but returned to normal 3 months after withdrawal of the medication. The multifocal electroretinogram returned to normal after the full-field electroretinogram had done so. The anterior chamber deposits still remain.

CONCLUSION

Long-term treatment with rifabutin may have a reversible and previously undescribed side-effect on retinal function. The drug may also accumulate irreversibly on the posterior surface of the cornea and on the anterior surface of the lens. We suggest that objective evaluation of retinal function with electrophysiological methods should be performed in patients with visual disturbance during treatment with rifabutin.