Juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis: Data from a region in western Greece.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the characteristics and visual prognosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (JIA).

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed on 56 patients who met the criteria for JIA to identify those with uveitis and related complications. Patients were referred to and were examined in the Pediatric Department of the University Hospital of Ioannina, between 1995 and 2007.

RESULTS

The prevalence of JIA-associated uveitis was high. Despite this and the related complications, the final visual outcome was satisfactory in the majority of the cases. Authors did not observe any correlation between prognosis and sex, age at the onset of uveitis or arthritis, pattern of arthritis, or positivity for antinuclear antibodies (ANA).

CONCLUSION

We found a remarkably high prevalence of uveitis and related ocular complications in 7 (28%) of the patients, and the rate of poor visual outcome was 12%.