TY - JOUR
T1 - Changes in patterns of uveitis at a tertiary referral center in Northern Italy
T2 - analysis of 990 consecutive cases
AU - Luca, Cimino
AU - Raffaella, Aldigeri
AU - Sylvia, Marchi
AU - Valentina, Mastrofilippo
AU - Fabiana, Viscogliosi
AU - Marco, Coassin
AU - Annamaria, Soldani
AU - Luisa, Savoldi
AU - Alessandro, De Fanti
AU - Lucia, Belloni
AU - Alessandro, Zerbini
AU - Maria, Parmeggiani
AU - Matthew, Chersich
AU - Alessandra, Soriano
AU - Carlo, Salvarani
AU - Luigi, Fontana
PY - 2017/1/9
Y1 - 2017/1/9
N2 - Purpose: The role of uveitis, an uncommon ocular disease, is often neglected in research and treatment of autoimmune conditions. The study described the spectrum of uveitis at a referral center in North Italy, and compared that to a previously published series of patients. Methods: We reviewed all patients with uveitis diagnosed from 2013 to 2015 at the Immunology Eye Unit, Arcispedale S. M. Nuova-IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy. We examined patient characteristics, disease spectrum, and etiologies. Results: In total, 990 cases of uveitis were identified, who were mostly female (59%) with a median age at presentation of 44 years (interquartile range = 29–57). Anterior uveitis was most frequent (53.5%), followed by panuveitis (22.8%), posterior (16.2%), and intermediate uveitis (5.5%). Anterior herpetic uveitis (15.6%), Fuchs uveitis (9.7%), and HLA-B27 positive anterior uveitis (7.7%) were the most common specific diagnoses. Compared with the previous series, we observed an increased incidence of uveitis, and a different pattern of diagnoses. Rates of herpetic, HLA-B27 positive uveitis, and presumed ocular tuberculosis were higher, but Fuchs uveitis was less frequent. Conclusions: The pattern of uveitis appears to be changing, very likely due to population-level increases in infectious diseases, to the availability of new diagnostic tests and to the interdisciplinary approach used in patient diagnosis.
AB - Purpose: The role of uveitis, an uncommon ocular disease, is often neglected in research and treatment of autoimmune conditions. The study described the spectrum of uveitis at a referral center in North Italy, and compared that to a previously published series of patients. Methods: We reviewed all patients with uveitis diagnosed from 2013 to 2015 at the Immunology Eye Unit, Arcispedale S. M. Nuova-IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy. We examined patient characteristics, disease spectrum, and etiologies. Results: In total, 990 cases of uveitis were identified, who were mostly female (59%) with a median age at presentation of 44 years (interquartile range = 29–57). Anterior uveitis was most frequent (53.5%), followed by panuveitis (22.8%), posterior (16.2%), and intermediate uveitis (5.5%). Anterior herpetic uveitis (15.6%), Fuchs uveitis (9.7%), and HLA-B27 positive anterior uveitis (7.7%) were the most common specific diagnoses. Compared with the previous series, we observed an increased incidence of uveitis, and a different pattern of diagnoses. Rates of herpetic, HLA-B27 positive uveitis, and presumed ocular tuberculosis were higher, but Fuchs uveitis was less frequent. Conclusions: The pattern of uveitis appears to be changing, very likely due to population-level increases in infectious diseases, to the availability of new diagnostic tests and to the interdisciplinary approach used in patient diagnosis.
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Infection
KW - Interdisciplinary approach
KW - Italy
KW - Systemic disease
KW - Uveitis
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U2 - 10.1007/s10792-016-0434-x
DO - 10.1007/s10792-016-0434-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85008698006
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - International Ophthalmology
JF - International Ophthalmology
SN - 0165-5701
ER -