[Clinical and biological markers of secondary uveitis: results of a discriminant analysis].
BACKGROUND
The association of uveitis and systemic disease is well known. Patients suffering from uveitis often undergo a extensive battery of tests in order to detect underlying disease, but the efficiency of such screening is uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate useful clinical data for recognizing secondary uveitis.


METHODS
We conducted a prospective analysis of 115 patients with uveitis of unknown etiology. All of them were included in an extensive protocol study. Four groups were considered: specific ocular disease (SOD), idiopathic uveitis, HLA-B27 associated uveitis without arthritis (HLA-B27-AU) and secondary uveitis. Groups were compared by analysis of variance for continuous variables, and chi 2 test or Student's t-test for discrete variables. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis was performed for ranking the variables in order of their usefulness for distinguishing idiopathic and secondary uveitis.


RESULTS
We diagnosed 11 SOD (9.6%), 54 idiopathic uveitis (47%), 6 HLA-B27-AU (5.2%) and 41 secondary uveitis (35.7%). The discriminant analysis showed that age, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, presence of cutaneous lesion, joint pain and genital ulcers are the strongest predictors of secondary uveitis. This model classification functions detected 92.5% of idiopathic uveitis and 72% of secondary uveitis. The global percentage of patients with a correct diagnosis was 84.6%.


CONCLUSIONS
Anamnesis, physical examination and basic laboratory tests are sufficient tools for the diagnostic approach of the majority of patients with uveitis. Subsequent diagnostic procedures must be planned in each patient to confirm a specific disease.
Herranz Marín
M T
MT
Unidad de Uveítis-Servicios de Medicina Interna y Oftalmología, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada.
Jiménez-Alonso
J
J
Delgado Rodríguez
M
M
Omar
M
M
Rivera Cívico
F
F
Martín Armada
M
M
Siles
M J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014605:Uveitis / Q000209:etiology*
D015415:Biomarkers
Marcadores clinicobiológicos de uveítis secundaria: resultados de un análisis discriminante.