Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Pediatric Uveitis Cases from a Referral Center in Turkey.

PURPOSE: To provide insights into the presentation and management of uveitis in children, enhancing understanding and improving treatment strategies.

METHODS

A retrospective evaluation of medical records was conducted to gather data on children diagnosed with uveitis in Uveitis Department of a tertiary care hospital in Turkey.

RESULTS

The study included 153 children with uveitis, of which 84 (54.9%) were female and 69 (45.1%) were male. The mean age was 10.17 ± 4.14 years (2-16 years). The mean follow-up period was 32.04 ± 17.47 months (12-72 months). Eighty-eight children (57.5%) had anterior uveitis, 32 (20.9%) had intermediate uveitis, 2 (1.3%) had posterior uveitis, and 31 (20.3%) had panuveitis. The most common diagnosis was juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis, which occurred in 59 children (38.5%). Out of 260 eyes assessed, 25.7% (67/260) had at least one ocular complication at presentation. Of the 145 children with noninfectious uveitis, methotrexate (MTX) was prescribed to 131 (90.3%), azathioprine (AZA) to 35 (24.1%), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) to 6 (4.1%), cyclosporine (CSA) to 5 (3.4%), adalimumab (ADA) to 87 (60%), and infliximab (IFX) to 26 (17.9%). At the end of follow-up BCVA was found to be significantly improved in all anatomic localizations (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In our study, the collaboration between our clinic and the pediatric rheumatology referral center may have contributed to the higher number of JIA uveitis and different results. Early and aggressive treatment strategies are important in early and long-term control of ocular inflammation thus resulting in better visual prognosis in pediatric uveitis.