title: Remission of Intermediate Uveitis: Incidence and Predictive Factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the incidence of remission among patients with intermediate uveitis; to identify factors potentially predictive of remission.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Involved eyes of patients with primary noninfectious intermediate uveitis at 4 academic ocular inflammation subspecialty practices, followed sufficiently long to meet the remission outcome definition, were studied retrospectively by standardized chart review data. Remission of intermediate uveitis was defined as a lack of inflammatory activity at ≥2 visits spanning ≥90 days in the absence of any corticosteroid or immunosuppressant medications. Factors potentially predictive of intermediate uveitis remission were evaluated using survival analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 849 eyes (of 510 patients) with intermediate uveitis followed over 1934 eye-years, the incidence of intermediate uveitis remission was 8.6/100 eye-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.4-10.1). Factors predictive of disease remission included prior pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) (hazard ratio [HR] [vs no PPV] = 2.39; 95% CI, 1.42-4.00), diagnosis of intermediate uveitis within the last year (HR [vs diagnosis >5 years ago] =3.82; 95% CI, 1.91-7.63), age ≥45 years (HR [vs age <45 years] = 1.79; 95% CI, 1.03-3.11), female sex (HR = 1.61; 95% CI, 1.04-2.49), and Hispanic race/ethnicity (HR [vs white race] = 2.81; 95% CI, 1.23-6.41). Presence/absence of a systemic inflammatory disease, laterality of uveitis, and smoking status were not associated with differential incidence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that intermediate uveitis is a chronic disease with an overall low rate of remission. Recently diagnosed patients and older, female, and Hispanic patients were more likely to remit. With regard to management, pars plana vitrectomy was associated with increased probability of remission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: john.kempen@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kempen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Deglin and Greene Retinal Center, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Dina Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Gewaily
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Craig W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Newcomb
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Liesegang
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution, Waltham, Massachusetts; Allergan, Inc, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: R Oktay
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Kaçmaz
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; Tampa Bay Uveitis Center, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: Grace A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Levy-Clarke
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Nussenblatt
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Department of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Devers Eye Institute, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: James T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: H Nida
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Portland Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Eric B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Suhler
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Thorne
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution, Waltham, Massachusetts; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: C Stephen
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jabs
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Department of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Portland Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Payal
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Tonetta D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015867:Uveitis, Intermediate / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*