Decreasing severity of chronic uveitis in children with pauciarticular arthritis
D. D. Sherry, E. D. Mellins and R. J. Wedgwood
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle.
We compared the current prevalence and severity of chronic uveitis in
children with pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in Seattle,
Wash, with that of children with the same condition in the same area in
1975. The prevalence of eye disease decreased from 45% in 1975 to 13% in
1989, and the proportion of patients with severe visual loss decreased from
21% in 1975 to none in 1989. We could not attribute these findings to
differences in known risk factors for iritis, such as age, sex, or presence
of antinuclear antibodies. There was no difference in the duration of
follow-up between the two groups. It is possible that the decline in
prevalence of uveitis reflects a referral bias for eye disease in the 1975
population. However, the decrease in disease severity remains unexplained
and may represent more effective treatment, earlier surveillance for ocular
disease, or a change in the frequency of ocular manifestations of this
disease in the 1989 group.
