Abstract
Purpose :
Uveitis is a potentially sight-threatening inflammation of the uveal tract and its adjacent structures, which leads to legal blindness in Japan. On the other hand, the development of valuable diagnostic tools and revision of diagnostic criteria have changed the medical examination of uveitis. We investigated the changes in etiology of uveitis at the Uveitis Clinic of Tokyo Medical University Hospital in recent years and the factors involved.
Methods :
We reviewed the records of 3,402 patients with uveitis who were followed at the uveitis clinic of Tokyo Medical University Hospital. A group of patients examined within a 7-year period from January 2011 through August 2017 (group A) were compared to an earlier group of patients examined within a 9–year period from January 2000 through June 2008 (group B).
Results :
A total of 1,616 patients in group A and 1,786 patients in group B were analyzed in this survey. The mean age was 47.1 years in group A, and 45.3 years in group B . The proportions of masquerade syndrome increased. In contrast, Behcet’s disease and unclassified uveitis decreased. The total number of infectious uveitis was unchanged in the two series. The proportions of ocular toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus retinitis increased, while those of acute retinal necrosis, ocular tuberculosis, and ocular toxocariasis decreased.
Conclusions :
As recently reported in Japan, a decrease of patients with Bechet’s disease was confirmed. In spite of the development and widespread use of reliable diagnostic methods such as polymerase chain reaction for infectious uveitis, there was no change in the incidence of infectious uveitis. The increase of masquerade syndromes such as intraocular lymphoma could be due to widespread recognition of the concept of this disease and establishment of diagnostic strategy.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.