Pattern of uveitis at a referral center in Iraq

To determine the etiologies of uveitis and the causes of visual loss in uveitis patients at a referral center in Baghdad, Iraq.

A 4-year prospective study was performed at the uveitis clinic at Ibn Al-Haetham teaching eye hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. Referral cases of active uveitis were included. A complete ophthalmic examination was performed in all cases. If clinical picture did not indicate a specific etiology, patients were sent for a routine set of tests while ancillary tests were conducted when indicated.

Out of 318 patients included in this study, 236 patients (74.2%) had bilateral uveitis, and 212 patients (66.7%) had non-granulomatous uveitis. Posterior uveitis was recorded in 123 cases (38.7%) followed by panuveitis in 97 cases (30.5%), anterior uveitis in 78 cases (24.5%), and intermediate uveitis in 20 cases (6.3%). A diagnosis was established in 210 cases (66%) while etiology could not be determined in the remaining 108 cases (34%). Most common infectious causes were toxoplasmosis (13.8%) and presumed ocular tuberculosis (11.4%) while most common non-infectious causes were Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (12.3%), Behηet's disease (8.2%), and pars planitis (5.7%). Out of 49 eyes with irreversible blindness, macular degenerations, or scars (46.9%) and optic nerve atrophy (34.7%) were the most important causes.

At this referral center, toxoplasmosis and presumed ocular tuberculosis were the most common infectious causes of uveitis while Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, Behηet's disease, and pars planitis were, in that order, the most common non-infectious causes. Macular degenerations or scars and optic nerve atrophy were the most important causes of irreversible blindness.