Characterization of uveitis associated with spondyloarthritis

At a university based referral clinic, 236 consecutive patients with uveitis were evaluated by a rheumatologist; 13% of these patients had spondyloarthritis including 17 patients with Reiter's syndrome and 13 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The uveitis associated with AS or Reiter's syndrome had distinctive characteristics; it was acute in onset, unilateral, frequently recurrent, and spared the choroid and retina. Two thirds of the patients with spondyloarthritis were not suspected or known to have Reiter's syndrome or AS before referral. Since many diseases of the joints also affect the uveal tract, the recognition of the specific pattern of uveal involvement can greatly facilitate the differential diagnosis.