Epidemiology and Clinical Course of Pediatric Uveitis in a Tertiary Referral Center in Northeastern Iran
Sahel Khazaei1 , Elham Bakhtiari1 , Mohammad Reza Ansari Astaneh1 , Seyedeh Maryam Hosseini1 *
- Eye Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract: To describe the distribution, clinical findings, treatment, complications, and visual outcomes of
pediatric uveitis at a tertiary referral ophthalmic center
Methods: The medical records of all patients ≤18 years diagnosed with and managed as uveitis from
August 2016 to August 2021 were reviewed retrospectively.
Results: Of the 97 patients, 52.6% were female, and the mean age at the onset was 10.5 ± 4.6 years (6
months to 18 years). Uveitis cases were predominantly anterior (33 [34%]), chronic (59 [60.8%]), bilateral (63 [64.9%]), and non-infectious (80 [82.5%]). A total of 36.1% (35 patients) of cases were idiopathic, and the most frequent systemic associations were juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), 16 [16.5%]) and Behcet’s disease (15 [15.5%]). Most patients (74 [76.3%]) experienced ocular complications, including vasculitis (29 [29.9%]), posterior synechiae (23 [23.7%]), and cataracts (22 [22.7%]). Patients with uveitis of all anatomic locations experienced an improvement in best-corrected visual acuity during the follow-up period (p <0.01).
Conclusion: The most prevalent systemic associations were JIA and Behcet’s disease. Ocular Behcet is
a common etiology of pediatric uveitis in northeastern Iran. A timely and appropriate treatment could
result in satisfactory visual outcomes.
