Efficacy of Anti-TNF-α Therapy for the Treatment of Non-infectious Uveitis: A Retrospective Study of 21 Patients

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of anti-TNF alpha (TNF-α) therapy in patients with non-infectious uveitis.

Methods: This was a monocentric observational study of 21 patients with non-infectious uveitis treated with anti-TNF-alpha. The primary endpoint was the control of ocular inflammation. The secondary endpoints included the study of macular thickness and visual acuity, changes in other treatments, and adverse effects.

Results: The etiologies of uveitis were Behçet disease (33.3%), birdshot (14.3%), sarcoidosis (9.5%), and idiopathic uveitis (42.9%). Ocular inflammation was controlled at 3 months for 80.9% of patients, at 6 months for 94.7%, at 12 months for 83.3%, and at >12 months for 86.7%. Central macular thickness improved from 452 µm at baseline to 307.5 µm at 12 months (p = 0.002). Visual acuity also improved from 0.51(logMAR) before treatment to 0.24 at 12 months. The mean daily dose of prednisone decreased from 19.7 mg before treatment to 5.2 mg at 12 months (p < 0.001). A total of 9.5% of patients experienced serious side-effects.

Conclusions: Our study confirms the efficacy of anti-TNF for the control of short-term and long-term ocular inflammation, with high rates of complete clinical remission.

Keywords:

• Adalimumab
• anti-TNF-α
• infliximab
• non-infectious uveitis
• refractory uveitis

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.