TOPLINE:

About 1 in 3 patients with sarcoid uveitis achieved remission over a median follow-up of 6.5 years. Swelling in the macular region at baseline was associated with the risk for delayed remission, and lung involvement was linked to faster remission.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a multicenter retrospective study at two university hospitals in France to identify predictors of remission in sarcoid uveitis and to describe the rates and patterns of recurrence.
• They included 329 patients with sarcoid uveitis and a minimum follow-up duration of 3 years (median age at diagnosis, 53 years; 62% women), recruited between January 2003 and December 2021.
• Remission was defined as the absence of clinical symptoms of sarcoidosis for at least 3 years without treatment.
• Recurrence after remission was defined as the return of signs of inflammation of the eye, including the anterior chamber and vitreous humor; swelling in the macular region; or new lesions in the retina or the back of the eye.
• The median follow-up duration was 6.5 years.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 30% of patients achieved remission.
• Swelling in the macula at baseline was associated with the risk for delayed remission (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.594; P = .043), whereas involvement of the lungs at baseline was linked to a likelihood of faster remission (aHR, 1.588; P = .032).
• Among those who achieved remission, disease recurred in 6% of patients at a median duration of 46 months.
• At recurrence, most patients had anterior uveitis and involvement of the same regions of the eye as at initial presentation. 

IN PRACTICE:

“It seems reasonable to think that patients with macular edema would be more difficult to treat and that these eyes would require longer treatment durations before achieving remission,” the researchers reported. “Considering the rarity of recurrence, the long median time to recurrence and the relatively benign forms of uveitis observed, annual ophthalmic follow-up appears sufficient once remission is achieved; more intensive surveillance does not seem necessary,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Amy Siriphanh, MD, of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in Villeurbanne, France. It was published online on April 1 in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study was retrospective, and researchers lacked details about treatment. All patients came from French tertiary centers, thus limiting generalizability. Few patients experienced recurrences.

DISCLOSURES:

The authors did not declare any source of funding or competing interests.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.