Pediatric Uveitis in Turkey: The National Registry Report II

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatrics
• Immunology

Background:

• Uveitis in children is a significant cause of visual impairment.
• Understanding the demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric uveitis is crucial for effective management.
• Limited data exists on the specific profiles of pediatric uveitis in the Turkish population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the demographic and clinical profiles of pediatric uveitis patients in Turkey.
• To identify the most frequent causes and clinical forms of childhood uveitis in this population.
• To investigate the systemic associations of pediatric uveitis.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from a nationwide uveitis database.
• Inclusion of pediatric uveitis cases.
• Evaluation of demographic, clinical, and etiological factors.

Main Results:

• The study analyzed 442 patients (697 eyes), with a mean age of 10.8 years.
• Non-infectious uveitis (75.3%) was more prevalent than infectious uveitis (15.6%).
• Pars planitis (20.1%) was the leading clinical form, followed by idiopathic uveitis (18.8%), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-related uveitis (12.4%), Behçet uveitis (9.3%), and toxoplasma retinochoroiditis (7.9%).
• Anterior uveitis (39.1%) was the most common anatomic location, followed by intermediate (29.4%), panuveitis (16.1%), and posterior uveitis (15.4%).
• Ocular involvement was bilateral in 57.7% of patients.

Conclusions:

• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) was the most common systemic association in younger children.
• Behçet disease was the predominant systemic association in older children.
• These findings highlight the importance of identifying systemic conditions in pediatric uveitis management.