JUVENILE ARTHRITIS AND UVEITIS

The association between juvenile arthritis and uveitis is reviewed. Some children with the HLA-B27 related spondyloarthropathies develop anterior uveitis. About 20% of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) who are negative for IgM rheumatoid factor develop a frequently bilateral, nongranulomatous chronic anterior uveitis. Risk factors for uveitis in JRA patients are: female gender, pauciarticular onset of arthritis, presence of circulating antinuclear antibodies, and the antigens HLA-DW5 and HLA-DPw2. Uveitis is rare after seven years or more have elapsed from the onset of arthritis. The visual prognosis in patients with uveitis is good in 25% and fair in 50%. The remaining 25% develop visual impairment from complicated cataract and/or secondary inflammatory glaucoma. The potential benefit of cytotoxic agents in the treatment of intractable uveitis is outweighed by the risk of serious side effects. The management of secondary inflammatory glaucoma is unsatisfactory, but the results of treatment of complicated cataracts by lensectomy-vitrectomy are good. © 1990.