Fuchs uveitis: A clinical analysis of 339 patients from India

To describe the clinical profile of a large cohort of patients with Fuchs uveitis in a tertiary eyecare institute in India.

Retrospective analysis of all patients with Fuchs uveitis visiting the uveitis clinic of a tertiary eye institute between January 2013 and January 2023.

The study included a total of 346 eyes of 339 patients with Fuchs uveitis (mean age 34.0 ± 11.7 years). Among the presenting complaints, 332 patients (97.9%) reported diminished vision, and 52 (15.3%) reported floaters. Misdiagnosis occurred in 25% patients. Clinical findings included a loss of fine iris pattern (100%), stellate keratic precipitates (69.3%), cataract (84.3%), vitreous membranes (44.2%), heterochromia (6.4%), iris nodules (9.2%), and iris atrophy (21.7%). Post-cataract surgery complications were rare, with comparable outcomes between preoperative steroid and nonsteroid groups. Visual acuity improved from 0.77 at the time of presentation to 0.11 logMAR at the time of final follow-up.

Fuchs uveitis remains frequently underdiagnosed and overtreated in the Indian setting, often due to diagnostic challenges such as bilaterality, reliance on iris heterochromia in dark irides, and vitreous involvement. Our study suggests that systemic corticosteroids do not influence visual outcomes after cataract surgery in these patients.