Incidence and risk factors for chronic uveitis following cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence of and associated risk factors for uveitis after cataract surgery.

METHODS

A total of 17,757 eyes were identified and records of 42 eyes that developed uveitis and 2320 eyes that did not were reviewed. Postsurgical uveitis was defined as persistent inflammation for ≥ 6 months after surgery.

RESULTS

Forty-two eyes of 35 patients developed uveitis (0.24%). Eleven patients underwent consecutive cataract surgery but developed unilateral uveitis, and intraoperative complications occurred in 55% of uveitic eyes compared to 0% in fellow eyes (p < 0.05). Median duration of inflammation was 8 and 11.5 months in eyes with and without vitrectomy (p < 0.05). Intraocular complications occurred in 44 and 8.3% of eyes that did and did not develop uveitis, respectively (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Postsurgical uveitis developed after approximately 1 in 400 cataract surgeries and occurred more frequently in eyes experiencing intraoperative complications.