Clinical Features of Acute Anterior Uveitis with Complicated Course in a Slovenian Patient Population.

Purpose: To report on patients who needed hospitalization due to acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and within this group to compare clinical features and outcomes of treatment of HLA-B27+ and HLA-B27- AAU in the population of Slovenian patients.

Methods: Retrospective study of hospitalized patients with AAU in the last 39 months at the Eye Hospital in Ljubljana. The data of AAU patients were retroactively studied and compared on the basis of HLA-B27 antigen presence: visual acuity upon admission, visual outcome, the presence of hypopyon, fibrinous reaction, posterior iris synechiae, and complications, such as elevated intraocular pressure, cataract, and cystoid macular edema (CME). We compared the investigations in the diagnostic process, the associated systemic disease, and the treatment administered. Statistical analyses included Student's -test Fisher's exact test, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. A value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 37 hospitalized patients with AAU were included. HLA-B27 antigen was detected in 73% of patients. In the HLA-B27+ group, women were more commonly affected, while the males were more affected in the HLA-B27- group. The occurrence of fibrin was significantly more common in HLA-B27+ patients, as well as hypopyon and posterior synechiae; only fibrin reached the statistical significance ( < 0.05). The incidence of cataracts, ocular hypertension, and glaucoma did not differ significantly between the two groups. HLA-B27+ AAU was more often associated with systemic diseases, and patients in this group were more frequently treated with systemic immunomodulatory drugs, however, no difference reached the statistical significance. We did not notice any major differences in the final visual acuity in the comparing groups.

Conclusion: Almost ¾ of AAU patients that required hospitalization were HLA-B27+. In this group, disease was more severe, more frequently associated with ocular complications and systemic disease, but final visual acuity was the same in both groups. HLA-B27 typing has no prognostic value in our group of complicated AAU patients, but it eases the decision about necessary diagnostics and treatment.