Changing patterns of intraocular inflammatory disease in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the frequencies and clinical characteristics of Japanese patients with uveitis.


METHODS
Records of 189 patients referred from April 1999 to March 2001 were retrospectively reviewed.


RESULTS
Fifty-six patients (29.6%) had anterior uveitis, 13 (6.9%) intermediate uveitis, 59 (31.2%) posterior uveitis, 58 (30.7%) panuveitis, and three (1.6%) papillitis. The most common diagnoses were Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease (10.1%), biopsy-proven or presumed sarcoidosis (9.5%), acute anterior uveitis (7.9%), tuberculosis (6.9%), and Behçet's disease (5.8%). Seventy-three patients (38.6%) were treated with local therapy alone, and 95 patients (50.3%) required systemic therapy. Ocular complications developed in 19.6% of patients, and systemic complications in 2.1%.


CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm a continued high frequency of VKH disease and sarcoidosis, but suggest a decreased frequency of Behçet's disease and an increased frequency of tuberculosis. Roughly one-half of the patients required systemic treatment in addition to local therapy, and ocular and/or systemic complications developed in one-fifth of the patients.
Wakabayashi
Toshiko
T
Kyorin Eye Center, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. aokada@po.iijnet.or.jp
Morimura
Yoshihiro
Y
Miyamoto
Yuko
Y
Okada
Annabelle A
AA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014392:Tuberculosis, Ocular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014607:Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*