Abstract
Purpose:
To report the clinical findings, management, and outcomes of patients with post-traumatic uveitis seen at a tertiary referral center over a 30 year-period.
Methods:
Retrospective review of patients with ocular inflammation following blunt trauma seen at the University of Virginia from 1984 to 2014. Descriptive statistics were used to report patient historical information, clinical findings, therapy, and outcomes. When applicable, the paired and unpaired T-test was used to compare subgroups.
Results:
A total of 57 patients (59 eyes) were included. Age at presentation ranged from 6 to 84 years (mean, 42.8 years). Thirty-four patients (60%) received topical steroids, 2 (3.5%) received systemic steroids, 5 (8.7%) required cataract surgery, 5 (8.7%) required glaucoma medications, and 1 (1.7%) required glaucoma surgery. Average duration of follow up was 4.48 years. Mean visual acuity (VA) at presentation of 20/50 (logMAR 0.424) improved to 20/40 (logMAR 0.284) by the final visit, and this difference was statistically significant (P =0.015). Poor final VA (worse than 20/50) was associated with black race (P = 0.04), but not age at presentation (P = 0.405) or gender (P= 0.095). Mean intraocular pressure (IOP) did not change significantly (15.4 mmHg to 15.1mmHg, p=0.681) over the length of follow-up. Compared to 434 patients (585 eyes) with non-traumatic uveitis managed over the same time period, mean final VA 20/60 (0.50 LogMAR) and IOP (14.9mm Hg) were not significantly different (P = 0.0686 and P = 0.7697, respectively).
Conclusions:
Conclusions:<br /> Traumatic uveitis is commonly encountered and carries a visual acuity prognosis that is not significantly different from other forms of uveitis, though black race was associated with poorer outcomes. Intraocular pressure was not significantly different than in nontraumatic uveitis eyes and tends to be well-controlled. Most patients are managed with topical steroid therapy. Glaucoma surgery is rarely needed.