Enhanced Ectasia Screening in Patients with Uveitis and Isolated Systemic Inflammatory Disease

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To investigate corneal topographic alterations in patients with uveitis and isolated systemic inflammatory disease (SID).

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study included 44 patients with uveitis with anterior chamber inflammation (uveitis group), 39 subjects with isolated SID, and 91 healthy controls (control group). Topographic images were classified as “normal,” “keratoconus (KC) suspect” and “KC” based on maps of axial curvature, corneal thickness, front and back elevation in combination with Belin/Ambrósio Enhanced Ectasia Display (BAD).

Results

The uveitis and SID groups had higher incidence of KC (6.8% and 10.2%, respectively) and KC suspect (45.5% and 33.3%, respectively), whereas 2.2% of the control subjects had KC and 26.4% represented KC suspect (p < .05).

Conclusions

Patients with uveitis with or without SID, and isolated SID without intraocular inflammation seem to be more likely to have KC and KC suspect, which might be due to systemic and/or local inflammatory background triggering pathophysiological mechanisms underlying KC.

KEYWORDS:

• Corneal ectasia
• keratoconus
• pentacam
• systemic inflammation
• uveitis

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Hande Senol (from the Department of Biostatistics) for statistical assistance.

Disclosure Statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.