Ocular sarcoidosis: evaluation of intraocular findings

Intraocular lesions occurred in 55 of 70 sarcoidosis patients (78.6%) and their intraocular findings were biomicroscopically analyzed. Intraocular lesions were observed bilaterally in 54 of 55 patients (98.0%) and these various lesions occurred simultaneously or within a short period in almost all tissues of the eyeball. From these characteristics a new attempt was made to correlate the presence of sarcoidosis with intraocular findings. A gross positive correlation was revealed between the number of active intraocular lesions and the presence of sarcoidosis. Four to six active, bilateral intraocular lesions were found only in sarcoidosis. Although the correlation was not statistically tested, it should be clinically very useful in managing patients with suspicious intraocular lesions. Among the causes of visual disturbances secondary glaucoma was the most frequent. In 41 (37.2%) eyes various degrees of intraocular hypertension were observed. Impairment of aqueous outflow due to nodular infiltration of trabeculae was the fundamental mechanism in the rise of intraocular pressure. It should be emphasized that this peculiar trabecular finding can be identified only by a trained ophthalmologist and is very frequent in and characteristic of ocular sarcoidosis.