Researchers did this study to evaluate the long-term risk of permanent vision loss in subjects with anterior uveitis.
The present study is a retrospective study of subjects attending the uveitis clinic. Main outcome measures were: BCVA, moderate vision loss, and severe vision loss.
Researchers included 2526 eyes of 1814 subjects with a mean follow-up of 6.8 years. MVL occurred in 240 eyes during the follow-up period, of which 97 had permanent MVL due to uveitis. The most common cause of permanent MVL due to uveitis was uveitic glaucoma, followed by cystoid macular edema and corneal scar. SVL occurred in 80 eyes during the follow-up period, of which 39 had permanent SVL due to uveitis. The incidence of permanent SVL due to uveitis was 0.002 per eye-year with a cumulative risk at ten years of 2.6%. Multivariate analysis showed older age at presentation, CAU, infectious etiology, and poor presenting BCVA were all risk factors for permanent MVL due to uveitis.
The study concluded that although vision loss is an uncommon complication in anterior uveitis, the risk is most significant in those with CAU, infectious etiology, and poor presenting BCVA. Uveitic glaucoma is the most common cause of vision loss.
Reference: https://bjo.bmj.com/content/104/12/1652
