[Uveitis in children: about 20 cases]

Uveitis in children is rare: 3%-8% of all cases. It requires the same diagnostic and etiological processes as uveitis in adults, with additional difficulties at examination and a sometimes insidious progression.

Retrospective study of 20 cases of childhood uveitis from 1995 to 2000. All patients received an ophthalmologic examination and an etiological search, with specific and/or symptomatic treatment and follow-up lasting from 6 months to 5 years.

The 20 children presenting uveitis were 4-16 years old, with etiologies as follows: 8 cases of Behçet's disease, 2 cases of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada's disease, 1 case of sarcoidosis, 1 case of uveitis associated with coeliac disease, 1 case of toxoplasmosis, 1 case of sympathetic ophthalmia, 1 case of uveitis with streptococcal infection, 3 cases of ocular toxocarosis, and 2 cases with unknown etiology. Treatment based on the etiological findings was started in the cases of toxoplasmosis and uveitis from streptococcal infection. The others were treated with high- and then digressive-doses of corticosteroids.

We have noted the high incidence of Behçet's disease in our series. Progression was marked by frequent recurrence for one case of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada's syndrome and one case of toxoplasmosis. This study also revealed a few cases of complicated cataract.

Clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of uveitis in children are discussed.