ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Oftalmologica 2006 June;48(2):35-43

Copyright © 2006 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Glaucoma secondary to uveitis. A retrospective study

Machetta F., Actis A. G., Rolle T., Grignolo F. M.

Section of Ophtalmology, Eye Clinic Department of Clinical Physiopathology University of Turin, Turin, Italy

In 1813 Joseph Beer first reported the association of uveitis and glaucoma , describing it as arthritic iritis followed by glaucoma and opacification of the vitreous humour. Glaucoma secondary to uveitis is a clinic complex entity and may occur by one or by a combination of several different pathophysiological mechanisms. Careful delineation of the pathophysiology involved is the cornerstone of successful treatment. This study includes all the patients suffering from uveitis and admitted to the Univerity Eye Clinic of the Ophtalmic Hospital of Turin from January 1998 to June 2004. We examinated 215 case sheets: 114 males and 101 females. The average age was 46,96 years with a range 2-102 years. We included patients with both these characteristics: 1) IOP>21 mmHg (G) in two consecutive measurements; 2) Patients treated with chronical medical therapy or surgery in order to lower IOP. We did not include patients with a pre-existent diagnosis of primary glaucoma. 25,58% (55 patients) of 215 patients (260 eyes) affected had an elevation of IOP in the acute phase of uveitis, but the IOP was immediately controlled using an anti-inflammatory and glaucoma therapy. 8,37% of patients (18 out of 215) developed a secondary glaucoma. This corresponds to 8,07% of the eyes (21 out of 260).