Abstract
Purpose: :
Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a retinal vascular disorder that frequently causes visual loss. It can be associated with cardiovascular risk factors, but also occurs as a result of inflammatory vasculitis. However, the association between RVO and uveitis has not been studied in detail. The purpose of this study was to determine the causes of RVO in patients with uveitis.
Methods: :
A retrospective study of patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital diagnosed with uveitis and RVO. 25 eyes of 21 patients were included, with 26 distinct RVO events. LIGS 1021: visual loss in uveitis
Results: :
21 uveitis patients, (25 eyes), were included in this study and 26 RVO events were documented. The mean age was 53 years (range 25-78 years). 19/21 patients had monocular disease, and each of these patients had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. Ten patients were on systemic immunosuppressive medication, including corticosteroids.
Conclusions: :
RVO occurs in patients with uveitis at a similar age to patients without ocular inflammatory disease. Although sarcoidosis and Behcet’s disease are known to cause RVO, it appears likely that, in the majority of patients, systemic medication for uveitis increasing patients’ cardiovascular risk factors, rather than uveitis per se, is responsible for the development of RVO.
Keywords: uveitis-clinical/animal model