Chronic Non-infectious Uveitis in Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Purpose: To describe clinical findings and analyze treatment evolution of chronic, non-infectious uveitis in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods: A total of 82 patients (147 eyes) with JIA-related uveitis treated for months were included (78% females; 79% bilateral uveitis; 74% anterior uveitis). Outcome measures were visual acuity (VA), inflammation control, side-effects, and surgical procedures. Results: Mean +/- SD age at diagnosis was 4.9 +/- 3.8 years; mean +/- SD follow-up time was 8.7 +/- 7.8 years. Mean VA did not significantly change throughout the study. Three (2%) eyes resulted in no light perception (NLP) vision. Thirty (37%) patients underwent 69 procedures. In total, 41 (50%) patients achieved inflammation control. TNF-alpha inhibitors were significantly associated with inflammation control. Seven (8.5%) patients stopped treatment due to side-effects. Conclusions: JIA is a cause of significant ocular morbidity. TNF-a inhibitor use was associated with inflammation control. Prospective, randomized, double blind clinical trials in this regard are warranted.