Prospective International Registry for Treatment Exit Options in Uveitis (TOFU) - the First Five Years.

Abstract

Uveitis diseases are generally rare and therefore often pose a significant challenge in treatment. In developed countries, non-infectious uveitis is one of the most common causes of severe functional impairment and even blindness. The current guidelines provide information on when and how to initiate treatment, but do not include recommendations on when and how to reduce or discontinue treatment. The Treatment Exit Options for Uveitis Register (TOFU) was initiated over five years ago, with the aim of improving the evidence for therapy reduction and termination. Over the past five years, the register has been established nationally with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Eye Foundation and industry partners and has since been expanded in individual European countries. The registry is under the auspices of the Uveitis Section of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG). The analysis of baseline data from around 1000 patients shows that, in the prospectively documented patient population, intermediate uveitis is most common, followed by posterior uveitis, panuveitis and retinal vasculitis. The disease was bilateral in 75.9% of cases. The mean visual acuity was 0.22 ± 0.36 logMAR. Patients with panuveitis had the worst visual acuity, with 0.27 ± 0.39 logMAR. Severe visual impairment (> 1.0 logMAR) was observed in only 1% of patients at baseline. The continuation and European expansion will ensure the continuous generation of high-quality data in the coming years and thus help to develop recommendations on the end of therapy.