The Evaluation of Cases with Ocular Complications due to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Treatment using the Pool Analysis Method

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate cases with ocular complications associated with intravesical BCG therapy in terms of clinical features, demographic features and type of ocular involvement. Methods PubMed database was scanned for relevant publications using the keywords. Thirty-seven publications and 147 reported cases were identified related to the development of ocular complications due to intravesical BCG treatment. Results As a result of the analysis performed according to eye involvement, there were 17 cases of conjunctivitis, 7 uveitis, and 5 endophthalmitis. Only 27 (18.3%) cases were of primary ocular involvement and Reiter's syndrome was present in 120 (81.6%) of all cases. Conclusions Most of the side-effects of BCG therapy are minor and of short duration. Although rare, it has been reported that potentially serious ocular complications can develop after treatment. Physicians must keep these facts in mind and be alert to the development of ocular symptoms following BCG therapy.