Non-infectious uveitis: a multicenter study from Argentina.

Abstract

Purpose: To describe etiologies and clinical characteristics of patients from Argentina with non-infectious uveitis (NIU). Differences between the anatomic segments involved were described as well.

Methods: This is a multicentric, cross-sectional study from January 2008 to March 2021. We included patients with NIU from private and public institutions. Uveitis diagnosis was made by ophthalmologists specializing in uveitis, and rheumatologists diagnosed the autoimmune conditions. Patients were classified according to the International Uveitis Study Group classification system. RESULTS°: We included 468 patients with NIU. Most of them were female (64.1%), with a mean age at diagnosis of 37.9 years (SD 17.2). Idiopathic uveitis and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH) were the most frequent causes. Among anterior uveitis, the most prevalent causes were idiopathic, spondyloarthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and sarcoidosis. VKH and Behçet were predominant within the panuveitis group. Over half of the patients (57%) required immunosuppressants. Methotrexate (20.6%) and azathioprine (8.9%) were mostly used. Eleven percent of the patients needed biologics, mostly adalimumab (9.4%). Two hundred fifty-six (54.7%) patients had eye complications, and cataracts were the most frequent (30%). A comparative analysis was performed between public and private institutions. There was no difference in the causes of uveitis or complications (p = 0.38; p = 0.06, respectively).

Conclusion: The most prevalent causes of uveitis were VKH and idiopathic uveitis, different from the etiologies observed in the United States and Europe.