Uveitis

Uveitis (

Classification

Uveitis is classified anatomically into anterior, intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis forms—based on the part of the eye primarily affected.^[2] Before the twentieth century, uveitis was typically referred to in English as "ophthalmia."^[3]

• Anterior uveitis includes
  anterior chamber and iris. Iridocyclitis is inflammation of the iris and ciliary body with inflammation predominantly confined to the ciliary body. Between 66% and 90% of uveitis cases are anterior in location (iritis).^[4]
  This condition can occur as a single episode and subside with proper treatment or may take on a recurrent or chronic nature.
• Intermediate uveitis, also known as
  pars planitis, consists of vitritis—which is inflammation of cells in the vitreous cavity, sometimes with snowbanking, or deposition of inflammatory material on the pars plana
  . There are also "snowballs," which are inflammatory cells in the vitreous.
• Posterior uveitis or chorioretinitis is the inflammation of the retina and choroid.
• Panuveitis is the inflammation of all layers of the uvea.

Causes

Uveitis is usually an isolated illness, but can be associated with many other medical conditions.^[1] In anterior uveitis, no associated condition or syndrome is found in approximately one-half of cases. However, anterior uveitis is often one of the syndromes associated with HLA-B27. Presence of this type of HLA allele has a relative risk of evolving this disease by approximately 15%.^[5]

The most common form of uveitis is acute anterior uveitis (AAU). It is most commonly associated with HLA-B27, which has important features: HLA-B27 AAU can be associated with ocular inflammation alone or in association with systemic disease. HLA-B27 AAU has characteristic clinical features including male preponderance, unilateral alternating acute onset, a non-granulomatous appearance, and frequent recurrences, whereas HLA-B27 negative AAU has an equivalent male to female onset, bilateral chronic course, and more frequent granulomatous appearance.^[6] Rheumatoid arthritis is not uncommon in Asian countries as a significant association of uveitis.^[7]

Noninfectious or autoimmune causes

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• Sympathetic ophthalmia
• Behçet disease
• Crohn's disease
• Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis
• HLA-B27 related uveitis
• Spondyloarthritis (especially seen in ankylosing spondylitis
  )
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Sarcoidosis
• Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome

Associated with systemic diseases

Systemic disorders that can be associated with uveitis include:^[8][9]

• Enthesitis
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• psoriatic arthritis
• reactive arthritis
• Behçet's disease
• inflammatory bowel disease
• Whipple's disease
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• polyarteritis nodosa
• Kawasaki's disease
• chronic granulomatous disease
• sarcoidosis
• multiple sclerosis
• Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease

Infectious causes

Uveitis may be an immune response to fight an infection caused by an organism in the eye. They are less common than non-infectious causes and require antimicrobial/ viral/ parasitic treatment in addition to inflammatory control. Infectious causes in order of global burden include:

• bartonellosis
• tuberculosis
• brucellosis
• herpesviruses (herpes zoster ophthalmicus - shingles of the eye)
• leptospirosis
• presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome
• syphilis
• toxocariasis
• toxoplasmic chorioretinitis
• Lyme disease
• Zika fever^[10]

Drug-related side effects

• Rifabutin, a derivative of Rifampin, has been shown to cause uveitis.^[11]
• Several reports suggest the use of quinolones, especially Moxifloxacin, may lead to uveitis.^[12]

White dot syndromes

Occasionally, uveitis is not associated with a systemic condition: the inflammation is confined to the eye and has unknown cause. In some of these cases, the presentation in the eye is characteristic of a described syndrome, which are called white dot syndromes, and include the following diagnoses:

• acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy
• birdshot chorioretinopathy
• multifocal choroiditis and panuveitis
• multiple evanescent white dot syndrome
• punctate inner choroiditis
• serpiginous choroiditis
• acute zonal occult outer retinopathy

Masquerade syndromes

Masquerade syndromes are those conditions that include the presence of intraocular cells but are not due to immune-mediated uveitis entities. These may be divided into neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions.

• Non-neoplastic:

• retinitis pigmentosa
• intraocular foreign body
• juvenile xanthogranuloma
• retinal detachment

• Neoplastic:

• retinoblastoma
• lymphoma
• malignant melanoma
• leukemia
• reticulum cell sarcoma

Signs and symptoms

The disease course, anatomy, and laterality can vary widely and are important to consider in diagnosis and treatment. Cases may be acute (sudden onset with < 3 month duration) and monophonic, acute and recurrent, or chronic.^[13] The signs and symptoms of uveitis may include the following:^[1]

Anterior uveitis (iritis)

• Pain in the eye(s)
• Redness of the eye(s)
• Blurred vision
• Photophobia
• Irregular pupil
• Signs of anterior uveitis include dilated ciliary vessels, presence of cells and flare in the anterior chamber, and keratic precipitates ("KP") on the posterior surface of the cornea. In severe inflammation there may be evidence of a hypopyon. Old episodes of uveitis are identified by pigment deposits on lens, KPs, and festooned pupil on dilation of pupil.
• Busacca nodules, inflammatory nodules located on the surface of the
  granulomatous forms of anterior uveitis such as Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis (FHI).^[14]
• Synechia, adhesion of the iris to the cornea (anterior synechiae) or more commonly the lens (posterior synechiae)

Intermediate uveitis

Most common:

• Floaters
  , which are dark spots that float in the visual field
• Blurred vision

Intermediate uveitis usually affects one eye. Less common is the presence of pain and photophobia.^[15]

Posterior uveitis

Inflammation in the back of the eye is commonly characterized by:

• Floaters
• Blurred vision

Pathophysiology

Immunological factors

Onset of uveitis can broadly be described as a failure of the

The cause of non-infectious uveitis is unknown but there are some strong genetic factors that predispose disease onset including HLA-B27[22]^[23] and the PTPN22 genotype.^[24]

Infectious agents

Recent evidence has pointed to reactivation of

Uveitis is assessed as part of a dilated eye exam.^[1] Diagnosis includes dilated fundus examination to rule out posterior uveitis, which presents with white spots across the retina along with retinitis and vasculitis.^[1]

Laboratory testing is usually used to diagnose specific underlying diseases, including rheumatologic tests (e.g. antinuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor) and serology for infectious diseases (Syphilis, Toxoplasmosis, Tuberculosis).

Major histocompatibility antigen testing may be performed to investigate genetic susceptibility to uveitis. The most common antigens include HLA-B27, HLA-A29 (in birdshot chorioretinopathy) and HLA-B51 (in Behçet disease).^{[citation needed]}

Radiology X-ray may be used to show coexisting arthritis and chest X-ray may be helpful in sarcoidosis.

Treatment

Uveitis is typically treated with

Intravitrial injection of steroid has proven to be a newer useful way to control inflammation for longer without the need for daily eyedrops. Dexamethasone and fluocinolone acetonide are two more commonly used options for noninfectious uveitis.^[31]

Non-biologic, steroid sparing therapies for noninfectious uveitis in adults are now more available. These include the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) methotrexate, mycophenolate, cyclosporine, azathioprine, and tacrolimus.^[32] In comparing various studies, methotrexate is more efficacious than mycophenolate in inflammatory control for most forms of panuveitis. Methotrexate also had little to no differences in safety outcomes compared to mycophenolate.^[32]

Antimetabolite medications, such as methotrexate are often used for recalcitrant or more aggressive cases of uveitis. Experimental treatments with Infliximab or other anti-TNF infusions may prove helpful.

The anti-diabetic drug metformin is reported to inhibit the process that causes the inflammation in uveitis.^[33]

In the case of herpetic uveitis, anti-viral medications, such as valaciclovir or aciclovir, may be administered to treat the causative viral infection.^[34]

Epidemiology

Uveitis affects approximately 1 in 4500 people and is most common between the ages 20 to 60 with men and women affected equally. In western countries, anterior uveitis accounts for between 50% and 90% of uveitis cases. In Asian countries the proportion is between 28% and 50%.^[35] Uveitis is estimated to be responsible for approximately 10%-20% of the blindness in the United States.^[36]

For non-infectious uveitis, women are more likely (57%) to be affected than men, possibly due to their higher prevalence of related autoimmune diseases.^[37] Vitamin D deficiency and smoking are risk factors for non-infectious uveitis.^[37]

Prognosis

The prognosis is generally good for those who receive prompt diagnosis and treatment, but serious complication including

• List of systemic diseases with ocular manifestations
• Intermediate uveitis
• Uveitis–Glaucoma–Hyphema syndrome

References