Abstract
Purpose :
The aim of the study was to evaluate a cohort of patients, suffering from the severest forms of NIUP or panuveitis, with a special focus on therapy efficacy, therapy-associated adverse side effects and the need of medication switch.
Methods :
In the present study a cohort of 18 patients (35 eyes) presenting with the severest forms of chronic non-infectious posterior or panuveitis (ocular Behçet's syndrome, Birdshot Chorioretinopathy, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome and Serpiginous Choroiditis) were included. All patients were evaluated regarding the clinical course of the disease with a particular focus on best-corrected visual acuity, treatment duration, remission rates, reported negative side effects and the necessity of switching the medication.
The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the medical ethics committee of the General Medical Council Hamburg, Germany (2020-10344-BO-ff)
Results :
The cohort's mean age was 45.4 years, twelve patients were male, six were female. The mean follow-up period was 27.8 months. The best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly from baseline to end of follow-up (p=0.048). However, complete or partial remission was observed in only 66.7%. 72.2% of the patients underwent a switch of the medical treatment due to either adverse events or inefficacy of medication.
Conclusions :
Despite new immunosuppressive therapies, effective treatment of severe non-infectious posterior and panuveitis remains a major challenge. As several therapy changes were necessary in the presented cohort for achieving partial or complete remission. The data shows the urgent need for additional and novel treatment strategies, to prevent systemic adverse effects, and to effectively improve visual outcome and prevent blindness.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.