[Epidemiology of uveitis in the Tunis area].

PURPOSE: To identify the epidemiological characteristics and the most common etiologies of uveitis in the Tunis area.

METHODS

Medical records for all uveitis patients seen from September 2003 through October 2009 were included.

RESULTS

A total of 424 patients (596 eyes) were included. The mean age at onset of uveitis was 36 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 0.66. Uveitis was unilateral in 56.4%. Anterior uveitis was most common (48%), followed by panuveitis (33.6%), posterior uveitis (13.3%), and intermediate uveitis (5%). The most common causes were Behçet disease (14.7%), toxoplasmosis (10.2%), Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome (3.7%) and sarcoidosis (3.3%). Retinal vasculitis was found in 20%. Behçet disease was the most common cause of chronic uveitis. The most common complications were cataract (21.6%), ocular hypertension (12%) and macular edema (5.6%).

CONCLUSION

In our study, the most common causes of uveitis were Behçet disease, toxoplasmosis, VKH syndrome and sarcoidosis.