Ocular disease in patients with ANCA-positive vasculitis.
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-positive vasculitis-the term recently applied to Wegener's granulomatosis-is a rare multi-system inflammation characterized by necrotizing granulomas and vasculitis. We investigated the ocular manifestations of this disease in a group of patients drawn from five inflammatory eye disease clinics across the United States. Of 8,562 persons with ocular inflammation, 59 individuals were diagnosed with ANCA-positive vasculitis; 35 males and 21 females, aged 16 to 96 years, were included in this study. Ocular diagnoses were scleritis (75.0%), uveitis (17.9%), and other ocular inflammatory conditions (33.9%) including peripheral ulcerative keratitis and orbital pseudotumor. Mean duration of ocular disease was 4.6 years. Oral corticosteroids and other systemic immunosuppressive agents were used by 85.7% and 78.5% of patients, respectively. Over time, patients with ANCA-positive vasculitis experienced 2.75-fold higher mortality than other patients with inflammatory eye disease.
Watkins
Angela S
AS
Kempen
John H
JH
Choi
Dongseok
D
Liesegang
Teresa L
TL
Pujari
S S
SS
Newcomb
Craig
C
Nussenblatt
Robert B
RB
Rosenbaum
James T
JT
Thorne
Jennifer E
JE
Foster
C Stephen
CS
Jabs
Douglas A
DA
Levy-Clarke
Grace A
GA
Suhler
Eric B
EB
Smith
Justine R
JR