Rheumatoid arthritis and ocular involvement

To study the occurrence and incidence of different ocular manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis a random cross-sectional study was carried out among 54 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. The patients were examined thoroughly to detect any ocular disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Complete ocular examination with special emphasis on anterior segment evaluation and tearfilm study was done. Two-thirds of the patients examined had some kind of visual problem at presentation. Three patients (5.55%) had marked dry eye with another 20 (37.03%) having borderline tear deficiency. Two cases ( 3.70% ) of episcleritis were also seen. No cases of scleritis or retinopathy were found. The most common ocular association with rheumatoid arthritis was secondary Sjogren's syndrome. Other conditions include episcleritis and marginal keratitis.