Objective: To determine prevalence and complications of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis, and to evaluate risk factors for uveitis and its relation to articular disease.
Methods: Records of 309 patients with JIA (244 female, 65 male, mean age at onset 4.9 yrs) were retrospectively reviewed. Occurrence of uveitis and complications were assessed among oligoarticular-onset JIA (193 patients), polyarticular-onset JIA (66 patients), and systemic-onset JIA (50 patients). The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) was determined in patients with oligoarticular-onset JIA. Therapy and relapses of uveitis and arthritis were recorded at each visit during the followup (mean followup 7.6 yrs).
Results: Sixty-two patients developed uveitis (20.1%); 57 patients had oligoarticular-, 3 polyarticular-, and 2 systemic-onset JIA. Uveitis was asymptomatic in 56/62 cases. Fifty-five of the 62 patients (88.7%) developed uveitis within 4 years from disease onset. In patients with oligoarticular-onset JIA, an early age at disease onset and the presence of ANA (p < 0.05) and DRB1*11 (p < 0.03) were the best predictors of uveitis, while a polyarticular course was not associated to uveitis (p > 0.05). Active arthritis was present at the first episode of uveitis in 46/62 patients. Forty-four of the 62 patients experienced relapses of uveitis: in 20/62, relapses were concomitant to arthritis relapses; in 24/62 relapses presented without active arthritis. Complications of uveitis developed in 35.5% of the patients (22/62), leading to visual impairment in 13 patients.
Conclusion: Current guidelines provide early identification of uveitis in 90% of patients. With the exception of the first episode of uveitis, uveitis and arthritis seem to run different courses; close ophthalmologic scrutiny then should also be maintained during arthritis remission.