Structure of Clinical Forms and Etiology of Uveitis in Children of the Khabarovsk Krai

Purpose. Evaluation of the clinical and etiological structure of endogenous uveitis in children, the effectiveness of its etiological diagnosis. Material and Methods. 34 children (42 eyes) with endogenous uveitis aged 3 to 16 years: 31 children (37 eyes) have anterior uveitis, 2 (4 eyes) have intermediate uveitis, and one (1 eye) have posterior uveitis. The unilateral uveitis was observed in 26 children (76%), bilateral – in 8 children (24%). Clinically, 15 children were diagnosed with acute uveitis for the first time, 3 with exacerbation of the chronic course of eye inflammation, and 16 with a relapse of disease after prolonged remission. Ophthalmological examination, clinical and laboratory diagnostics were carried out, including immunological tests and consultations with medical subspecialists. Results. Among all examined children, 6 had uveitis without symptoms. The accompanying juvenile idiopathic arthritis was detected in 15 children with anterior uveitis, 6 had HLA-B27, 2 had an association with herpes simplex virus infection, one had systemic scleroderma, one had acute purulent unilateral sinusitis, and 6 were unable to identify etiology. Two children with intermediate uveitis had bilateral lesions; the etiological factor was the activation of herpes simplex virus. One child had acute central focal chorioretinitis of tuberculosis etiology. When an etiological factor was identified, children had etiotropic therapy along with pathogenetic. In all cases, clinical manifestations of uveitis were completely stop. Conclusion. Newly identified anterior uveitis with acute course occurred in 44% children, 9% had chronic course and 47% had the relapse after prolonged remission. The frequency of exacerbations in 12 children was up to 2 times a year and in 4 children it was more than 2 times a year. The course of anterior uveitis of mild and moderate severity occurred in 29 children and severe in 2 children. Intermediate uveitis in 2 children had moderate severity, posterior uveitis in one child had severe course. Key words: endogenous uveitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis.