Pattern of Retinal Vasculitis in an Egyptian Cohort

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To describe the clinical experience with retinal vasculitis at 4 Egyptian tertiary eye centers.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective chart review of all patients with retinal vasculitis encountered at 4 ocular inflammation referral clinics in Egypt between February 2013 and February 2018.

Results: The study included 618 patients (327 males and 291 females). Of these, 284 patients had isolated retinal vasculitis, whereas 233 patients had an associated systemic inflammatory disease, the most frequent being Behçet’s disease, followed by sarcoidosis. In 101 patients, retinal vasculitis could be attributed to an infectious etiology, and among this category, the most common was tuberculosis, followed by toxoplasmosis.

Conclusion: In our Egyptian cohort, more than half the patients had their retinal vasculitis as part of a serious systemic disease, or as part of an infectious process, as tuberculosis. And in view of the significant potential morbidity of these conditions, the local ophthalmologists need to be aware of these entities when faced with patients presenting with retinal vasculitis.

Keywords:

• Behçet’s disease
• Egypt
• epidemiology
• retinal vasculitis
• sarcoidosis

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

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

Financial disclosure

Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.