Neuro-Ophthalmic Complications of Tuberculosis and Treatment: A Systematic Review

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 studies (N=260,430) evaluating neuro-ophthalmic complications related to tuberculosis and its treatment. The work, authored by Ahmed A. Alessa, was published on figshare in May 2026. It reports pooled incidence rates, risk factors, and biomarker performance for conditions like ethambutol optic neuropathy and tuberculous meningitis manifestations.

Use Cases

• Estimating the incidence of ethambutol optic neuropathy based on the reported pooled rate of 1.54%.
• Identifying patient risk factors for neuro-ophthalmic complications based on reported odds ratios for renal impairment and hypertension.
• Comparing diagnostic efficacy of visual evoked potentials versus optical coherence tomography for subclinical detection based on the reported Hedges' g difference.
• Analyzing visual recovery outcomes in clinical ethambutol optic neuropathy cases based on the reported 52.4% recovery rate and associated factors like age and treatment timing.

Strengths

• Analysis is based on 22 studies encompassing 260,430 individuals, providing a substantial evidence base.
• Follows PRISMA 2020 guidelines and is registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251141453), indicating a structured methodology.
• Reports specific, quantified findings such as a pooled EON incidence of 1.54% and risk factor odds ratios.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 17.2 KB DOCX document, suggesting it contains summary text and tables rather than raw, analyzable patient-level data.
• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting direct computational reuse.
• Data freshness should be verified as the literature search was conducted up to September 2025.

Provenance

Source

Ahmed A. Alessa, published on figshare.

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, sourcing from PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar.

Time Range

Literature search covered studies up to September 30, 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-29 04:44:45; literature search current through September 2025.