Abstract
Purpose: :
The main purpose of this study was to assess the association of autoimmune disorders and malignancies in patients with Vogt-Koyanagi Harada (VKH) disease and Sympathetic Ophthalmia (SO). The association with other autoimmune disorders and malignancies have been reported with VKH but not with SO.
Methods: :
Fifty nine patients with VKH and SO were included in this study. The study design was a retrospective comparative non-interventional study. The medical record of each patient with the diagnosis of VKH or SO were retrieved and studied. The clinical manifestations of each patient were included and associated clinical findings of other systemic autoimmune disorders or malignancies were recorded. Statistical analysis was carried to find out whether the association of systemic autoimmune disorders and malignancies were more frequently encountered in patients with VKH disease than SO.
Results: :
There were a total of 59 patients. Fifty seven patients had VKH and 22 patients had SO. The age range in VKH group was 3-49 years with a mean age of 22 years, and the age range in the SO group was 6-42 years with a mean age of 19 years. Seventeen (46%) out of 37 patients with VKH disease had associated systemic autoimmune disorders or malignancy while 3 (14%) out of 22 patients with SO had systemic disorders and none of the patients had malignancy (p = 0.004). The associated disorders with VKH included Sjogren's syndrome, asthma, Systemic lupus erythematosus, VKC, malignant melanoma, lymphoma, chondrofibromyxoma, Celiac disease and type I diabetes mellitus. The associated systemic disorders with SO was asthma.
Keywords: choroid • uvea • retina