Clinical Profile of Scleritis Presenting for the First Time in the Elderly.

Purpose: To analyze clinical characteristics of scleritis in elderly patients and also compare the data with relatively younger patients with scleritis (<60 years).

Method: Retrospective analysis of medical records of patients with scleritis who visited a tertiary eye care centre between 2008 and 2018.

Result: Scleritis in ≥60 years accounted for 3% of the total scleritis cases. The mean age of the patients was 67 ± 6 years, and a female (66%) predominance was noted. Of the 44 elderly patients with scleritis, 48% were 66-70 years of age and 20% were above 70 years of age. Diffuse scleritis was the most common subtypes followed by necrotizing scleritis (35%). Overall, 32% of elderly patients with scleritis had underlying disease and the most common systemic association was granulomatous with polyangiitis. When compared with a subset of patients (<60 years of age), the elderly group showed higher rate of recurrences and complications.

Conclusion: Scleritis in elderly patients is relatively rare but can have a higher recurrence rate with a increased complications.