Abstract
Objective To investigate the characteristics, evolution, and visual outcome of non-infectious uveitis.
Methodology Records of 201 patients with non-infectious uveitis (136 (67.7%) males and 84 (41.8%) juvenile-onset (≤
16 years)) were retrospectively reviewed. Data were analyzed through Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney, chi-square (χ2
)
tests, and logistic regression.
Results The median disease and follow-up durations were 36 (interquartile range (IQR) 24–70) and 24 (IQR 10–36) months,
respectively. Fifty-eight (28.9%) patients had persistently idiopathic uveitis, and 143 (71.1%) were associated with rheumatic
diseases, of whom uveitis heralded, coincided with, and succeeded the rheumatic manifestation(s) in 62/143 (43.4%), 37/143
(25.9%), and 44/143 (30.7%) patients, respectively. Established rheumatic diseases were Behçet’s disease (103/201 (51.2%)),
juvenile idiopathic arthritis (13/201 (6.5%)), sarcoidosis (8/201 (4%)), seronegative spondyloarthropathy (7/201 (3.5%)), and
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (7/201 (3.5%)), and other diagnoses were present in 5/201 (2.5%) patients. Patients with idiopathic
uveitis were characterized by a juvenile-onset (p < 0.001), lower male predominance (p = 0.01), prevalent granulomatous
(p < 0.001), and anterior (p = 0.001) uveitis. The median visual acuity at last visit was 0.3 (IQR 0.05–0.6). Visual loss was
present in 45/201 (22.3%) patients (36/201 (17.9%) unilateral and 9/201 (4.4%) bilateral). Apart from a longer disease duration
(p = 0.002), lower educational level (p = 0.03), and prevalent panuveitis (p < 0.001), visual loss was not associated with any other
studied ocular or extra-ocular characteristics.
Conclusion Behçet’s disease (51.2%) and idiopathic uveitis (28.9%) were the most prevalent causes of non-infectious uveitis in
our study. Visual loss (22.3%) was associated with a longer disease duration, lower education level, and prevalent panuveitis.