Role of OCT in Monitoring for Ethambutol Induced Optic Neuropathy

Toxic optic neuropathy is a rare but serious complication of ethambutol use. The incidence of optic neuropathy increases with sustained periods of the drug's standard loading dose (25 mg/kg/day). To date, there are no known strategies for detecting subclinical ethambutol-induced toxicity, which if detected early may be reversed upon stopping the drug. We assess the utility of ocular coherence tomography (OCT) in detecting subclinical ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.