Purpose

To evaluate the risk of and risk factors for a second episode (relapse) among patients with remitted primary anterior uveitis.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Participants

Patients with primary anterior uveitis presenting to one of 4 academic ocular inflammation subspecialty practices achieving remission of the primary episode within 90 days of initial uveitis diagnosis.

Methods

Data were obtained by standardized chart review.

Main outcome measures

Time-to-relapse of anterior uveitis and risk factors for relapse.

Results

102 patients with a first episode of anterior uveitis were seen within 90 days of first-ever uveitis onset and followed for 165 person-years after achieving remission of the initial episode. Most patients were female (60%) and white (78%). Forty patients had a recurrence of anterior uveitis. The incidence of relapse was 24% per person-year (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 17–33%). At 1.5 years after remission, 61% (95% CI: 48–71%) were still in remission. Younger adults had significantly higher relapse risk than middle-aged adults (hazard ratio [18–35 year-old persons vs. 35–55 year-old persons]=2.7, 95% CI: 1.3–6.0).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that many patients with remitted primary anterior uveitis presenting for tertiary uveitis care will relapse. Age in the young adult range was associated with higher risk of relapse. Given the high relapse risk, management of patients with primary anterior uveitis should include an explicit plan for detecting and managing relapses.

Background

To evaluate how smoking affects the time to disease quiescence and time to disease recurrence in patients with ocular inflammation.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of patients with ocular inflammation who were followed longitudinally and had smoking information available in the Systemic Immunosuppressive Therapy for Eye Diseases Cohort Study database.

Results

Among 2676 patients with active ocular inflammation, smokers were more likely to have bilateral ocular disease and poorer visual acuity on presentation compared with non-smokers and previous smokers. In a multivariate analysis, there was no statistically significant difference in the time to disease quiescence between groups. However, the median time to recurrence of ocular inflammation was statistically significantly longer for non-smokers (9.4 months) and for previous smokers (10.7 months) than for current smokers (7.8 months) (p=0.02). The RR of ocular inflammation recurrence was higher for smokers than for non-smokers (adjusted HR=1.19, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.37) and tended towards significance in previous smokers (adjusted HR=1.11, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.35).

Conclusions

Smoking was associated with an increased likelihood of bilateral ocular inflammation and reduced vision upon presentation, and an increased risk of recurrence compared with not smoking. These results suggest that patients with ocular inflammation should be counselled to stop smoking as part of routine management.

Purpose

To evaluate the clinical outcomes of cyclosporine treatment for non-infectious ocular inflammation

Design

Retrospective cohort study

Participants

Three hundred seventy-three patients with non-infectious ocular inflammation managed at four tertiary ocular inflammation clinics in the United States observed to use cyclosporine as a single non-corticosteroid immunosuppressive agent to their treatment regimen, between 1979-2007 inclusive.

Methods

Participants were identified from the Systemic Immunosuppressive Therapy for Eye Diseases Cohort Study. Demographic and clinical characteristics, including dosage of cyclosporine and main outcome measures were obtained for every eye of every patient at every visit via medical record review by trained expert reviewers. Main Outcome Measures: Control of inflammation, sustained control after reducing corticosteroid dosages, and discontinuation of therapy because of toxicity.

Results

Of the 373 patients (681 eyes) initiating cyclosporine monotherapy, 33.4% by six months and 51.9% by one year gained sustained, complete control of inflammation over at least two visits spanning at least 28 days. Approximately 25% more improved to a level of slight inflammatory activity by each of these time points. Corticosteroid-sparing success (completely controlled inflammation for at least 28 days with prednisone 10 mg/day or less) was achieved by 22.1% by six months and 36.1% within one year. Toxicity led to discontinuation of therapy within one year by 10.7% of the population. Patients over 55 years of age were over 3-fold more likely to discontinue therapy because of toxicity than patients ages 18-39 years. Doses of 151-250 mg/day tended to be more successful than lower doses, and were not associated with a higher discontinuation for toxicity rate; higher doses did not appear to offer a therapeutic advantage.

Conclusion

Cyclosporine, with corticosteroid therapy as indicated, was modestly effective for controlling ocular inflammation. Our data support a preference for cyclosporine adult dosing between 151-250 mg/day. While cyclosporine was tolerated by the majority of patients, toxicity was much more frequent with increasing age; alternative agents may be preferred for patients over 55 years of age.

Purpose

To estimate the risk of structural ocular complications and loss of visual acuity in cases of Behçet’s Disease (BD); to evaluate potential risk and protective factors for these events

Design

Retrospective cohort study

Methods

Setting

Five academic center ocular inflammation subspecialty practices

Study Population

A total of 168 consecutive patients with BD-associated ocular inflammation

Procedures

Clinical data on these patients were ascertained by standardized chart review

Outcome Measures

Visual acuity, structural ocular complications of inflammation, intraocular pressure (IOP)

Results

Over a median follow-up of 1.05 years, the incidence of specific structural complications and IOP disturbances were common: the incidence rate of any ocular complication was 0.45/eye-year (EY). Rates of loss of visual acuity to 20/50 or worse and to 20/200 or worse were 0.12/EY and 0.09/EY respectively. Risk factors for loss of visual acuity during follow-up were persistent inflammatory activity, presence of posterior synechiae, presence of hypotony, and presence of elevated IOP. In a time-dependent analysis, current activity of ocular inflammation was associated with an increased risk of loss of visual acuity to 20/50 or worse (RR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.1–5.5, p = 0.03) and to 20/200 or worse (RR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.2–5.8, p = 0.01).

Conclusions

Loss of visual acuity and occurrence of ocular complications were common in patients with ocular inflammation associated with Behçet’s Disease, even with aggressive therapy. Ongoing inflammation during follow-up, presence/occurrence of posterior synechiae, hypotony, and elevated IOP were associated with an increased risk of loss of visual acuity.

Context Whether immunosuppressive treatment adversely affects survival is unclear.

Objective To assess whether immunosuppressive drugs increase mortality.

Design Retrospective cohort study evaluating overall and cancer mortality in relation to immunosuppressive drug exposure among patients with ocular inflammatory diseases. Demographic, clinical, and treatment data derived from medical records, and mortality results from United States National Death Index linkage. The cohort’s mortality risk was compared with US vital statistics using standardised mortality ratios. Overall and cancer mortality in relation to use or non-use of immunosuppressive drugs within the cohort was studied with survival analysis.

Setting Five tertiary ocular inflammation clinics.

Patients 7957 US residents with non-infectious ocular inflammation, 2340 of whom received immunosuppressive drugs during follow up.

Exposures Use of antimetabolites, T cell inhibitors, alkylating agents, and tumour necrosis factor inhibitors.

Main outcome measures Overall mortality, cancer mortality.

Results Over 66 802 person years (17 316 after exposure to immunosuppressive drugs), 936 patients died (1.4/100 person years), 230 (24.6%) from cancer. For patients unexposed to immunosuppressive treatment, risks of death overall (standardised mortality ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.94 to 1.11) and from cancer (1.10, 0.93 to 1.29) were similar to those of the US population. Patients who used azathioprine, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, ciclosporin, systemic corticosteroids, or dapsone had overall and cancer mortality similar to that of patients who never took immunosuppressive drugs. In patients who used cyclophosphamide, overall mortality was not increased and cancer mortality was non-significantly increased. Tumour necrosis factor inhibitors were associated with increased overall (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.99, 95% CI 1.00 to 3.98) and cancer mortality (adjusted HR 3.83, 1.13 to 13.01).

Conclusions Most commonly used immunosuppressive drugs do not seem to increase overall or cancer mortality. Our results suggesting that tumour necrosis factor inhibitors might increase mortality are less robust than the other findings; additional evidence is needed.