Clinical Characteristics and Prognostic Factors in Ankylosing Spondylitis Associated Uveitis

Purpose: To identify the clinical features and prognostic factors of uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: This retrospective, interventional case series study reviewed the medical records of 91 AS patients with uveitis.

Results: The characteristics of AS-associated uveitis included male preponderance (70%), average onset in the fourth decade, unilateral manifestation (87.9%), and vitreous involvement or retinal vascular leakage (36.3%). All patients had acute anterior uveitis. The best corrected visual acuity in logMAR improved from 0.8 ± 0.3 to 0.1 ± 0.2. The use of biologic agents was the only significant factor in the multivariate analysis. Patients with vitreous involvement/retinal vascular leakage were more likely to use systemic/peribulbar steroids for inflammation control, and achieved equally favorable visual outcome as in those without vitreous involvement/retinal vascular leakage.

Conclusion: The clinical characteristics and profile of visual prognostic factors suggest an association between the severity of ocular inflammation and systemic disease.