Noninfectious Uveitis in Rheumatology: Patterns, Treatment, and Outcomes

The present study aimed to determine the pattern and cause of noninfectious uveitis in rheumatology practice. The secondary objective was to identify the pattern of treatment and outcomes.

This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Rheumatology, National Hospital and Medical Centre, Lahore, Pakistan. After receiving consent, electronic medical records (EMRs) of all patients with a diagnosis of noninfectious uveitis (NIU) from November 2019 to January 2023 were reviewed, and a total of 52 patients labeled as having noninfectious uveitis were identified. The collected data included age at diagnosis, anatomical location of uveitis, associated systemic disease, used medications, and outcomes. All cases had been diagnosed and assessed mutually by a rheumatologist and an ophthalmologist using the International Uveitis Study Group classification system to classify the pattern of uveitis by location, clinical course, and laterality and rule out the possibility of other ophthalmologic diseases. Disease activity was defined using the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) guidelines. Data was analyzed on SPSS Statistics version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).

The mean age of the patients in this study was 36.02 ± 43.31 years, with 31 (59.6%) male patients. Anterior uveitis was the most common type observed among the patients at 55.8%, panuveitis was found in 25%, intermediate uveitis and posterior uveitis were seen in 9.6% each. Based on laterality, unilateral eye involvement was identified in 53.8% of patients. Spondyloarthritis (SpA) and idiopathic uveitis were observed in 34.6% and 28.8%, respectively. In this study, 28 (54.9%) patients were on conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDDs), and 23 (45.1%) were on biological DMARDs. In the biologics group, 82% of patients were in remission in comparison to 60% in the cDMARDs group.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on noninfectious uveitis in the Pakistani population. The study concluded that anterior uveitis is the most common type of uveitis and is more common in males. Spondyloarthropathy is one of the most common underlying systemic diseases. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 is associated more with uveitis. Biologics are more effective than cDMARDs in controlling the disease. Collaborative work between different specialties resulted in early diagnosis of underlying systemic disease, better management plans, and disease outcomes. To obtain further details on noninfectious uveitis, a population-based study is needed in Pakistan.