Intermediate uveitis: Etiologies and outcomes in a tertiary referral hospital in KSA

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the common causes of intermediate uveitis (IU) and outcomes of this disease in patients presenting to King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) in Riyadh, KSA.

This retrospective cohort study evaluated medical files of patients with IU was reviewed. A total of 109 patients were included in the study. The diagnosis followed the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature criteria. Data analysis included personal data, etiology of IU, treatment, and complications.

We identified 109 patients with IU. The mean age at diagnosis was 26.45 ± 15.31 years. Most were female (64.9%), and 86% were bilateral at presentation. The etiology of IU was idiopathic in 63.3%. Multiple sclerosis (MS) (19.3%) and tuberculosis (14.7%) were frequent systemic causes of IU. The pattern of complications included macular edema (42.1%), cataract (48.2%), and secondary glaucoma (30.7%); 28.9% of the patients had none of the complications. Treatment comprised topical, local, and systemic steroids, immunosuppressive agents, and biologics. The best-corrected visual acuity was better than 20/40 in 57.5% of the eyes after more than 10 years of follow-up.

This study demonstrated that at KKESH, most of the IU cases were idiopathic or associated with MS and tuberculosis. Visual prognosis is favorable even with the long duration of IU and numerous complications.