Abstract

Background/aims: This is a retrospective cohort uveitis survey to determine the clinical features of uveitis in children and assess the rate of complications at two referral centres in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: All children under the age of 16 years presenting with uveitis for the first time between 1997 and 2007 to The Eye Center and King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were included. Clinical features of uveitis entities were described. Last follow-up visual acuity and ocular complications were analysed.

Results: A total of 163 cases of uveitis in children were included. The age range was 1–16 years with a mean age of 10 years. The most frequent clinical type of uveitis in children included acute anterior non-granulomatous uveitis 26%, intermediate uveitis 20%, Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease 16% and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) 15%. Anterior uveitis accounted for 42%, intermediate for 20%, posterior for 7%, and panuveitis for 31%. Immune-mediated uveitis was present in 144 (88%) patients, while infectious causes manifested in 19 (12%) patients.

Conclusions: The most common cause of uveitis in children was anterior non-granulomatous uveitis of undetermined aetiology. There was a high prevalence of intermediate uveitis, VKH and JIA. Infectious causes of uveitis were uncommon.