Introduction: Uveitis is one of the main causes of eye disease and blindness. Uveitis may be the most common extra-articular manifestation, occurring in 20 to 30% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
Aim: The aim of the present study is to analyze the patients with uveitis and systemic diseases treated in Specialized Eye Hospital, Varna in the period 2019–2021.
Materials and Methods: The study included 60 patients with uveitis, analyzing demographic factors, visual acuity, severity of the disease, the presence of recurrences, affected eye, the presence of systemic disease. The results were processed with SPSS v. 20.0, using variance, variation, comparative and correlation analysis, risk assessment analysis. For significance level we assumed p < 0.05.
Results: The average age of patients with uveitis was 52.2 ± 18.2 years (7–84 years), dominated by men (51.7%) and urban residents (88.3%). A total of 21.7% (13) of the studied patients had systemic diseases, of which 61.5% had Bechterew's disease. In 84.5% of the cases there was unilateral involvement with 69.6% being of moderate severity. Recurrences were found in 34.5%. There was a significant difference (p = 0.024) and a moderate relationship between recurrence and systemic disease (r = 0.306; p = 0.02). The presence of systemic disease carried a 4.4-fold higher risk of recurrence (OR = 4.4 (1.201–16.114); p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Approximately one-fifth of the patients with uveitis included in the study had systemic disease, the most common being Bechterew's disease, followed by herpes simplex infection. The combination of uveitis with systemic disease or infection requires an interdisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
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