ABSTRACT
Purpose
Uveitis can be associated with meningitis (uveomeningitis) and the inflammation shared with the central nervous system. We aimed to describe the characteristics and outcome of uveomeningitis.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed 110 consecutive adult patients with uveomeningitis.
Results
The main causes of uveomeningitis were Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (31%), syphilis (16%), sarcoidosis (12%), Behçet’s disease (7%), and multiple sclerosis (5%). Sixteen percent of uveomeningitis remained of undetermined origin. Compared to etiology-matched uveitis without meningitis, patients with uveomeningitis were younger, had more frequent neurological manifestations, and had more frequent abnormal cerebral magnetic resonance imaging findings. In contrast, no ocular feature upon examination was significantly associated with the presence of meningitis. Patients with uveomeningitis were more frequently treated with immunosuppressants but uveitis relapse and systemic complications did not differ between groups.
Conclusion
Uveomeningitis is associated with a limited spectrum of diseases. Meningitis does not seem to impact ocular and extraocular outcomes. Therefore, lumbar puncture should be performed on an individual basis during the diagnostic workup of uveitis.
Competing interests
B. Terrier reports personal fees and research grants from Roche, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline, outside the submitted work. MG: consulting fees from AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline (outside the submitted work). CLJ: consulting fees from AstraZeneca and Iovia (outside the submitted work). The remaining authors have nothing to disclose.
Ethical approval information
Patient consent for publication is not required. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Data sharing statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.